Child, Interrupted
by Kelbear1717
Summary: Cass Shepard is the child of the famous Commander Selene Shepard. Trying to break away from her mother's legacy, after the Commander's death in Mass Effect 1, Cass will begin to realize that being a war hero's daughter is a lot harder than she expected; especially the daughter of someone who's apparently come back from the dead. (Set during ME2, and beyond.)
1. Chapter 1

"I don't believe you!" Cass exclaimed; arms waving wildly, clearly exasperated.

"Cassie! Please. Why would I ever lie about something like this?" Liara said, briefly glancing away from the glow of the console in front of her. "Your mother is alive. I've seen the footage of her on Freedom's Progress. You should see it; it is definitely your mother."

"Liara… I can't, it's been two years. People don't come back from what happened to her. It's impossible." Cass whispered. "I'm going back to Omega; I can't indulge in these fantasies. I know you loved her Liara, but maybe you should just let her go. I have."

"Cassie… I'm not lying. You'll see for yourself. Please be careful. "

Liara stands from her desk, crossing the threshold of her office, a clear picture of Illium glowing behind the full windows. She reaches for Cassandra and draws her into a fleeting embrace.

"Cass, please be careful; if your mother were to know where you've been living… well I doubt she'd approve. "

"Yeah, sure Liara. Not like she'll ever know anyways…"

* * *

Cass sat in afterlife, clearly too young to be there; at the young age of 17, she was a sight to see in full armor. Her helmet sat on the bar; as she rested her chin on top of it; clearly bored. A few strands of dark hair fell in her face. Huffing she tucked them behind her ear.

"Can I get you a drink?" A rough looking batarian asked, while wiping shot glasses from behind the bar.

"No… I don't drink… that often."

"That often?"

"Not now. Anything interesting happen lately?"

The Batarian rolled his eyes, "Why does everyone think that bartenders always know what's going on? I mean, do I look like that goddamned Al-Jilani woman?"

"Well sorry." Cass snapped. With that, she stood from the bar, throwing her helmet over her head, and letting her hair fall to her back. Making her way to the VIP lounge; hoping that Aria will have something for her to do today; something to hopefully clear her thoughts.

After leaving Liara's care in Illium, Cass had come to Omega; hoping to break away from her mother's legacy. Being a rather gifted biotic; she searched out Aria T'loak; with the intention to gain her favor and perhaps work for her. Understandingly, Aria had taken a bit of an interest in her; especially because she was Commander Shepard's kid; and being the First human Spectre's child definitely had its perks. Those perks including being in one of the galaxy's most popular clubs without consequences; and Omega was so lawless that mercenary work was never hard to find; especially with Aria's approval.

Cass reached the base of the stair. Aria sat in her usually spot. Three people in front of her; Two women and a male. Cass froze. There was no mistaking the short dark hair; and the confident stance of the Commander Shepard.

Cass could feel her pulse quicken; and her heart pounding in her chest. Leaning into the wall for support; feeling like she was on the verge of collapse. The Commander and her companions turned, descending the staircase. Cass felt like she would vomit; the commander; no her mother, was headed right toward her. Luckily enough, the visor of her helmet was reflective; her face was hidden; her mother wouldn't know. Would she? Was this really her mother? Was Liara right?

She couldn't risk exposure now, she had to be sure. Turning to run; a hand clasped her shoulder.

"Aren't you a little young to be here?" Cass turned; looking straight into the stern blue eyes of her mother.

* * *

Okay, this is a re-write of a different story on an old account of mine. I know this story is out of the ordinary and little weird, but I thought it would be fun to write. I'm not much of a proof reader, so if anyone wants to beta this, please contact me.


	2. Chapter 2

"Aren't you a little young to be here?" Cass turned; looking straight into the stern blue eyes of her mother.

Cass stood still, the feel of her mother's hand lightly grasping her shoulder felt unreal. She felt as though everything around her stopped. She could feel her tongue swell in her mouth, and her throat dry. Stumbling on her words, she choked out a strained, hoarse no.

The commander frowned and retracted her hand; obviously unsatisfied with the girls answer, and continued on her way.

Cass breathed a sigh of relief once her mother was out of hearing range. Was that really her mother? It looked like her mother, but her mother died in deep space. And why would she be on Omega? She took a moment to compose herself; and headed up the stairs. If anyone could answer her questions, especially as to why her mother would be here of all places, it would be Aria.

* * *

Aria sat relaxed, clearly undisturbed by the Commander's visit.

"Aria! Aria!"

"Yes, Cass?"

"Yes… Cass… the hell? My mo… Commander Shepard was just here! And all you have to say is "yes?!" Were you even going to tell me!?"

"Yes, of course I was going to tell you. Eventually."

"Did…did you tell her that I was here."

"I may have mentioned it; the commander was more concerned with the fire fights going on between the mercenary groups and Archangel. I believe she was headed there just now."

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now; if you hurry, you may be able to catch her; or find out what she's up too…"

"Because you're not going to tell me?"

"I don't involve myself unless it concerns Omega."

"Of course you don't. I guess I'll talk to you later Aria."

"I plan on it."

* * *

When Cass reached the slums of Omega, she could smell the blood. The air was thick with metal scents and the synthetic glowing from Omega's lights was fogged out by the remnant clouds of gunfire. The harsh shots were constantly being fired. Dead mercenary's lied in the streets, while others stepped over their bodies; scrambling around trying to coordinate hopeless plans of attack. Each group appeared keeping to themselves, except for those trying to lead; the Blue Suns in huddled packs of blue; and the Blood Pack in clumps of red; Salarians and few Asari in a dark yellow armor crowded together as well, representing Eclipse.

Cass stood still; overwhelmed by all of the commotion before gathering herself and continuing on her mission to find her mother; Aria said she was after this Archangel; so he would be her first stop. Cass slipped pass without notice; most were too distracted by all of the commotion to bother with her. Standing at the bridge, under cover; she could see men dropping like flies. Archangel; and whoever was up there with him was picking off these men one by one; quickly and efficiently. IF she had any chance of making it up their without taking a shot to the head; it had to be while they were distracted.

Cass shot forward; a few rounds taking out her shields right before she made to cover, she slid behind a pillar in the apartment's lower level; Archangel and his companion's right above her. She slipped from cover to cover; hoping to avoid any more rounds; fortunately, they firing seemed to stop; the Mercenaries appeared to be retreating, possibly to prepare for another assault. Silently, Cass crept up the stair case; preparing to throw up a biotic force-field last second. Turning the corner silently, she felt a pistol pressed to her back.

"Don't move." Her mother's voice was dangerously low. "You're one of Aria's goons; I saw you in Afterlife; and now you're here. Did Aria send you? An assassin perhaps? Someone to stop all of this disorder in the wards?"

Cass was jerked back roughly; her arms being restrained by an African American man in Cerberus garb. Being forced to her knees; her helmet was removed. She looked up, strands of dark hair falling into her face, where her eyes met her mother's for the second time that day. The surprise was evident in the Commander's face; "Cassandra?"

* * *

AN: Okay, so this is super AU. Shepard is definitely older, I'd say around 35/36, making her have Cass at like 18ish. Back story will be more clear, once Shepard and Cass reconnect. And I'm still working out a few kinks; might go back and edit chapter one a little bit, before writing more. So enjoy this in all it's weirdness. And also, I know these chapters are pretty short, so once I get more into the main body of the story they will likely be longer. Stay Frosty.


	3. Chapter 3

The surprise was evident in the Commander's face.

"Cassandra?"

The gunfire went unnoticed as Cass sat on her knees; the grip on her arms was lost as the man shot into cover. Cass felt as though she couldn't move; her mother was right here, she knew she was here; but it felt surreal. The commander's eyes left her daughters gaze as she hauled Cass to her feet, dragging her into cover.

"Stay down!" The commander ordered. Shepard went in and out of cover; shooting down her enemies, and tearing through them with her biotics as she ran down the stairs with her male associate. Cass sat briefly; still a bit shell shocked; other than the brief interaction she had with her mother earlier; this felt so much more real. Her mother knew she was here, her mother was alive and said her name in that tone that only mothers can achieve; the surprise in her voice was apparent, but she could still feel the affection, the love that had been missing for the past two years; just coming from her mother saying her name, her full name, which was not something she usually allowed.

Cass broke out of her shocked state as she felt the bullets rushing past her head. Grabbing the pistol from her side, she turned to the balcony to start firing on these mercenaries. Picking off a few from her vantage point, her pistol clearly not as effective as Garrus' sniper rifle; Cass knew she would be more effective in close combat, especially with her biotic abilities; following her mother's path, moving toward the stairs, a hand jerked her back forcing her behind the sofa in the middle of the room. She turned to see a rather attractive woman with long black hair; her white body suit stained with a few droplets of blood.

"Stay down!" She hissed

"I have a gun!" Cass exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

Attempting to move forward again, Cass was pulled back again. The black haired woman was clearly displeased, "What part of "stay down" don't you understand?!"

"What part of "I have a gun" don't you understand?!" Cass huffed. Ripping her harm out of this woman's grip, she rushed to the staircase, intent on finding where her mother went. As she rounded the corner, she was met head on with a Blood Pack Krogan standing in front of her; the red rusty color of his armor was painted with white symbols. Towering over the small girl in front of him; The Krogan charged forward shoving Cass out of the way, she flew backward upon impact; hitting the wall with a sickening crack, and passed out.

* * *

Cass groaned, the light was really bright; forcing herself into a sitting position, she started to rub her eyes trying to remedy her blurred vision. She could remember the Krogan coming at her, but not much after that. Seeing more clearly Cass had no idea where she was; clearly too clean to be Omega, and the quiet rumbling of some engine, she was definitely on a ship. Bring a hand to her pounding head; she went to swing her legs around the side of the cot, just as the doors swished open; revealing an older woman.

"Dr. Chakwas?"

"Cassandra, it's been a long time. How are you feeling?"

"Good, all things considered. I mean, being hit by a Krogan wasn't really on my schedule of things to do today."

"I would hope not, You'll likely be sore for a while; there's only so much medi-gel can do; you're lucky Miranda had enough on hand." Chakwas said; coming over to the cot; her omni tool open, likely intending to run some vitals tests.

"Miranda?"

"Oh yes, Miranda Lawson, she's the CO. And, well she's also responsible for... saving your mother, but that's who you should be talking to, your mother, that is."

"Yeah, um, about that... Where is she, and where are we?"

"On the Normany SR2 of course."

"SR2? Like numero dos? When did we get one of those?"

"Again, you should probably talk to your mother, I'll call her down."

"No! I ...uh, I'll go to her... Where is she?"

Chakwas went to speak, but was interrupted by a female, robotic voice, "The Commander is in her cabin, on the upper deck. I'll tell her you're coming, Cassandra."

"Thank you EDI." Chakwas replied simply.

"Did you just thank a VI?" Cass asked.

"I'm a fully functioning, artificial intelligence. I am the Normandy's Enhanced Defense Intelligence, but you may call me EDI, for your convenience. "

"Oh, I... Thank you.. EDI."

"Your Welcome, Cassandra." EDI responded.

"And EDI, you can call me Cass, also for conveniences sake." Cass replied cheekily.

"Of course, Cass. Your mother is waiting in her cabin for you."

"Thanks... I guess."

"Your welcome."

* * *

Reluctantly, Cass made her way to the elevator. The Normandy SR2 was very impressive, but all of the Cerberus logos started to rub her wrong. How could her mother be working for them? Her Alliance, war hero mother be working for an anti alien, terrorist group? This was very strange. She heard the rumors about Cerberus and her mother before coming into contact with her, but she didn't really believe them until now.

The Elevator doors swished open; revealing a very impressive captain's cabin. A full fish-tank along to the left and a full size bed and sofa along the back walls. Her mother appeared from around the corner; looking very intimidating in a Cerberus uniform; she stood up straight, arms crossed over her chest. Shepard's face was stern, but also some how relieved at seeing her daughter in front of her.

"So I hear you have been getting into all sorts of trouble. Haven't you, Cassandra?"


	4. Chapter 4

"I… Uh, well…um." Cass stammered, she was talking to her mother, the first time in 2 years; and the first thing her mother addresses is what she's been doing wrong. Cass starts wringing her hands, standing in the doorway of her mother's cabin, wishing she could take a step back and sprint out of her mother's sights.

"Oh Cass." Shepard sighs. She crosses the room between her and her daughter; sweeping her into a hug; one hand on the back of her daughters head, gently forcing Cass to rest her head on her mother's shoulder. "I've missed you so much, I don't remember anything about what happened before, but when I woke up, well, the first thing I thought of was you."

Shepard holds her daughter at arm's length; looking straight into her face, forcing their eyes to meet, Shepard continues, "And imagine my surprise that when I woke up, no one could tell me where you were. My seventeen year old daughter missing! Only to turn up on Omega of all places, and in the middle of a fire fight, no less!"

The commander releases her grip on her daughter's arms, and reaches for her hand. Pulling Cass further into the cabin, Shepard pushes her down on the sofa. Cass can see her face growing stern as she finally meets her mother's eyes; she feels so small sitting in front of her mother like this; not much unlike the time she was scolded for grabbing an Asari's tentacles, when she was 6, because who wouldn't be curious to know what they felt like.

Cass can't pull her gaze away; her mother clearly on the verge of a very long lecture, and Cass can't help but roll her eyes. She immediately regrets her decision as she can see her mother's demeanor go from calm to one of anger.

"Seriously, Cass? You've been awake for all of five minutes and already with the attitude! Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? You're seventeen, for God's sake. You don't get to run off to god knows where just because you feel like it! No one knew where you were, if you were in trouble or hurt, nobody would have been able to help you! You could have been killed and no one would be any the wiser. And running in front of a Krogan! Seriously? You should have been listening, but what can I expect from a teenager running of to Omega of all places! I don't understand how you can be so-"

Cass continued to listen as her mother continued to lecture; the woman was dead all of a few days ago, and she had the audacity to criticize her for doing what she needed to. She wasn't going to stay in the shadow of a dead woman. Staying on the citadel was bad enough, especially right after her mother's disappearance; people all around trying to help, help she very well didn't want or need. And it's not like she had a father to turn too; he died before she was even born! Cass could no longer stand being lectured at like some child, feeling her blood boiling, Cass shot out of her seat; standing as tall as she could staring down her mother, who was clearly startled by this turn of events.

"YOU were DEAD! You were dead and I was all alone! I- you don't get to do this! You don't get to stand here and act like I've done something wrong! I did what I had to do, to get away from all of this!" Cass gestured wildly, "It's not fair! Living in the shadow of your dead mother, with no other family to turn to! It's just not fair!"

Cass could feel her cheeks growing wet with tears as she ranted; while Shepard stood there silently; contemplating her daughters outburst briefly; the commander brought a hand up to her daughters cheek, brushing away a few stray tears with her thumb; and drawing her child into the second hug that day.

"Oh Cassie, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, baby. We'll figure this out. It will all be fine. I promise." Shepard said gently. Holding her daughter, she lowered them onto the couch. Cass held onto her mother, and for the first time in two years, she finally felt like she wasn't alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Cass began to stir, sitting up from the couch, bringing her fists up to her eyes to rub them; Shepard chuckled at her daughter's childlike gesture. The commander then ran her hands over her daughter's hair. Surprised to find herself laying across her mother's lap, Cass stilled briefly then shot up off of her mother's lap, Her head spinning, reaching her hand out to steady herself, she turned to send a glare toward her mother; she knew she couldn't let herself give in to this! She can't let her guard down; especially around Cerberus.

Shepard looked startled by this change of setting; clearly perturbed by her daughter's rashness. Shepard, standing from her place on the couch, sets a hand on her daughters shoulder from behind; she can feel Cass tense underneath her touch.

"Cass, I, well, I really think we should talk now, and I'll try refrain from the rest of the lecture. Okay?"

Cass turns to look at her mother, darkness forming in her eyes, "About what, _Commander? _The fact that you've been brought back from the dead by Cerberus, you know the same Cerberus you used to fight against! Anti-Alien-terrorist Cerberus! Like what the actual fuck? I can't believe this at all! This is insane! When Liara told me you were alive, well of all of the scenarios I concocted in my head, this was never one of them-"

"Cassandra!"

"Cass stops her rant cold, the tone her mother used; she knew was not one to be ignored.

"You need to listen to me right now! You have no information, I get that, it's frustrating, but right now I will tell you what's going on, but I need you to stop making assumptions and lose the attitude. I understand how upset you are, but at this moment, it's not the time. Do you understand me?"

Cass mumbled a string of profanities under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, I understand…" Cass grumbled.

"I though so. Now sit down; and just listen for a few minutes."

* * *

An hour later Cass sat still in the same place where her mother's tale started. The collectors were abducting human colonies! And Cerberus was working to defeat them, and they brought her mother back from god knows what state to save them; to build a team and go on some insane mission. This was a lot to process. Cass rubbed her temples rhythmically; her mother growing concerned.

"Are you alright? I know this is a lot to understand."

"I'm fine. I just, this team your forming, and this mission; it's just a lot to think about."

"I understand; but we should talk about you now. What's been going on the past couple of years."

"Do we have too?" Cass whined.

"Just by hearing that response, we really do. Now Talk."

"Well, obviously you know that I've been on Omega for the past year, you know… doing stuff and uh, things…"

"Stuff and things?"

"Uh, working for Aria, and other, um Mercenary people. So, you know, stuff and things."

"Cassandra." Shepard frowned.

"I know, I know. Not my best decision… So how much trouble am I actually in, like from 1 to 10, one being the look of angry disappointment, ten being I won't see the light of day for many years."

"Eleven." Shepard said dryly, un-amused by her daughter's sarcasm.

Cass frowned, and looked down to her lap, while her mother paced back and forth in front of her.

"What I don't understand Cassie, is why you would even go there in the first place? I took precautions after Sovereign; if anything were ever to happen to me; you should have been with Liara; so what I don't understand is how you ended up on a place like Omega, working for people you shouldn't even be around."

"Well, Liara and I, or mostly I, decided that I should be able to make my own decisions, and that I am mature enough to do so." Cass said as strongly as she could; looking her mother in the eye.

Shepard rolled her eyes, "You're seventeen years old, you're not an adult yet; you shouldn't be making these types of decisions at all. Liara should have never let you out of her sight, but enough of this for now. I think I'm going to need a break before hearing the rest in detail. You're grounded."

"Wha-what!?" Cass sputtered.

"You're grounded. End of story."

"You can't ground me! You were dead like ten seconds ago! This isn't fair! And we're on a ship! So it doesn't make any sense!"

"It does make sense and it is fair. You're grounded to the ship until further notice. You are dismissed."

"But I'm not even one of your crew members! You can't dismiss me!" Cass exclaimed.

Shepard laughed, and ruffled her daughter's hair, much to Cass' dismay. "Well you are now. Welcome to the Normandy SR2, which you are going to be stuck on until further notice."

"This is like kidnapping! I had an apartment on Omega and now you're just stealing me away!"

"It's not kidnapping if it's your own kid, sweetheart. Now why don't you leave mommy, so she can get some work done; and you can go play on the ship."

"Now you're just mocking me."

"That I am, but really I do need to go through some dossiers. I believe Joker is on the bridge; why don't you go bother him for now; and we can figure the rest of this out later."

"Yeah, whatever." Cass harrumphed loudly and very nearly stomped out of her mother's cabin.

"Teenagers," Shepard sighed.

* * *

Weee! Another chapter. I'm still working out some details, but I like to write as I go. If anyone has some good ideas to incorporate let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

Cass watched as the CIC deck buzzed with activity; the bright glow from the galaxy map illuminating the back of the room. A cheerful looking red head turned to greet her.

"Hi! I'm Yeoman Kelly Chambers, you must be the Commander's daughter. It's nice to meet you." She smiled, reaching her hand out to greet the girl.

Cass grasped the hand lightly for a moment; returning the Yeoman's smile briefly.

"Hello. Yeoman Chambers, good to meet you too."

"Call me : Kelly."

"Okay, Kelly. Thanks. Is Joker around?"

"The Flight Lieutenant is on the bridge." EDI interrupted.

"Uh, thanks EDI." Cass rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome, Cass."

As Cass excused herself from the Yeoman, she couldn't help but admire the sleekness of the Normandy SR2. Clearly a vast improvement from the SR1; she had to give Cerberus credit. Dodging all of the workers on the ship, she skulked to the bridge hoping Joker could cheer her up about being "grounded."

* * *

"You know Mr. Moreau, personalization does not include grease on my bridge cameras."

"EDI, as the pilot I believe there should be some personalization allowed in my work space. And besides you're just mad that all of your footage of me looks like a dream sequence. "

"Joker?" Cass made her self known, watching as Joker's chair did a 180 around.

"Shepard spawn!? I didn't know you were up and running yet; getting hit by a Krogan and all. Your mom was so pissed." He laughed.

"Yeah, well. I'm "grounded " now." Cass said, quoting with her hands.

"Grounded? On a ship? I don't think that's how it works."

"That's what I said! Makes no sense! I mean, like, aren't I supposed to be stuck in one place. Not traveling the galaxy." Cass said, plopping down in the chair next to Joker's. "Nice, Leather."

"I know right. Just starting to break it in the way I like it." He winked; then turning his attention back to the display in front of him. "So, how long you grounded for?"

"Forever, eternity... She didn't say." Cass replied.

"Well, You should have been here when your mother got word of your disappearance. She was like "What do you mean you don't know where she is?!" and then Miranda was all like, "I'm not paid to keep tabs on your child!", and then your mom was like, "I can't believe that nobody bothered to look for her! I'm a goddamned war hero, someone should know where my damn kid is!"

"Mr. Moreau, that is not how the conversation ensued. Cass, I would be happy to pull the footage for you to view." EDI interrupted; a glowing orb appearing to the left.

"I doubt she really care that much EDI, besides my version has more character." Joker rolled his eyes.

"Cass, I will make to footage available to you if you request." EDI said, ignoring Joker's response.

"Thanks EDI, maybe another time." Cass droned.

"Very well." EDI said; her glowing orb disappearing.

"So, uh, Joker… What's with Cerberus?" Cass questioned; hoping to satisfy her curiosity.

"Well, yeah. I guess so, they're a little flaky, but well we're doing something real here; they brought your mom back, and we're taking on the collectors, more than the alliance is doing." Joker turned to face her. "There hasn't been an issue yet, and well, things seem okay-"

"Cass; Cerberus has all intentions of defeating the collectors and rescuing human colonies." EDI interrupted, appearing once again.

"I… okay. " Cass relented, not wanting to involve the AI.

"So, grounded you say?" Joker laughed.

* * *

Cass lounged on the couch in the starboard observation deck; rubbing her eyes tiredly, she rested her head on the seat; her hair falling messily on the cushion. She wasn't quite sure where she should sleep, or really what she should do. She wanted to explore the rest of the ship; especially the engine room, mostly because she overheard a few of the crew gossiping about some crazy engineers down in there; who she really wanted to check out. And she had yet to catch up with Garrus, or even meet the infamous Miranda, but really she was sore and tired and just didn't have the energy; and really spending time with Joker really seemed like enough.

The SR2 seemed impressive though, from what she'd seen of it, but it almost made her nostalgic about the brief periods of time that she spent on the first Normandy, like the times it would dry dock, or they'd have shore leave; those were the times she got to spend with her mother; being stuck back on the citadel under the care of the Alliance foundation; being in a type of group home for the children of single parent, alliance soldiers. That was until Sovereign attacked and the facility was virtually destroyed and then a month or so later her mother died, then she stayed with Liara for the first year; then decided to make her own way. So yes, this Normandy was impressive, but she missed the SR1, and the memories she had made there.

Close to dosing off, Cass heard the doors swish open; glancing over the back of the couch, she watched her mother glide into the room; Shepard sat gently down next to Cass' head; placing a hand on her daughters scalp; gently brushing her hair with her fingertips.

"Hey." Cass whispered.

"Hey kiddo, tired huh?" Shepard said softly.

"Yeah, I think being hit by a Krogan has taken a lot out of me." Cass pouted.

Shepard laughed, "I would think so, why don't you head up to my cabin and get some sleep; you'll rest better in a bed rather than on a couch."

Cass sat up, lifting her arms into a stretch; Shepard stood with her; placing a hand on her lower back; leading her daughter to the door and to the elevator.

"Uh hey, Commander?" Shepard frowned at the use of the title. Her daughter had yet to refer to her as "mom," since they'd been reunited. Removing her hand; Shepard turned to face her child.

"Yeah Cass?"

"I'm sorry, you know… For yelling earlier. This is all just really confusing, and I didn't mean it. I was out of line." Cass looked down to her feet; feeling very small.

"It's okay kid," Shepard said, as the elevator door opened, The commander gently pushed her daughter into the elevator, then turned away toward Miranda's room. As the doors closed, Cass thought she heard her mother say, "I love you."

* * *

AN: So I know that I haven't updated in a while, but between school and work, I am pretty busy. Hopefully I'll update sometime this weekend. And feel free to contribute ideas! I have some ideas, but if anyone would like to see certain interactions between Cass and certain characters or other stuff let me know, I would like to write what people want to see. So either leave something in the reviews or private message me. Stay frosty! (Which really isn't that hard, because it's so damn cold everywhere!)


	7. Chapter 7

Shepard could hardly contain a laugh as she walked into her cabin, her daughter lazed across the bed horizontally, hugging a pillow with her left arm while the rest of her limbs splayed out across the sheet; the comforter jumbled along the foot of the bed; half of it on the floor.

As Shepard chortled, trying to remain silent, her daughter lifted her head from the mattress; "Whazgoin on?" she mumbled; barely lifting her head.

Shepard continued to laugh, and walked over to her daughter; sitting beside her on the bed. Cass sat up; pushing her hair out of her face; while blinking her eyes tiredly.

"I just came up to say goodbye; I'm taking a small team with me to pick up a new crew member from purgatory-"

"Like the prison?"

"Yes, we're picking up a biotic specialist, Cerberus contracted a deal with-"

"Can I come?" Cass interrupted.

"No. Absolutely not" Shepard replied.

"Why not?" Cass whined.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I'm your mother and I said so. And you're grounded, anyway." Shepard said, standing from the bed and turning to her wardrobe; scanning what she would wear.

"But I'm gonna be stuck on this ship all the time and you're going to go on mission; and well, I'll never see you." Cass rambled.

"Cassandra, no. "

"Aw, come on!"

"Cassandra." Shepard warned.

"But we could use this to spend time together." Cass mumbled; playing with a loose thread on the comforter below her, trying not to be caught in an obvious lie.

Shepard stopped what she was doing to turn to Cass; clearly surprised. A few hours ago, her daughter didn't even want to be in the same room as her, and now she wanted to spend time with her? Shepard was as a loss, but didn't want to pass up the chance if this meant bonding with her kid, and it shouldn't be dangerous, just picking someone up right?

"I, well okay. Fine. You can come; but you have to listen to everything I say."

"Really?" Cass looked up; visibly stunned.

Shepard sat back down, making eye contact; "You have to listen though. And I want you to be fully suited up, just in case."

"Okay! I'll be good! I promise! I gotta go tell Joker!" Cass sprang up off the bed; and rushed out of site into the elevator.

Shepard sat there; smiling and shaking her head.

* * *

"Commander, why are we bringing a child with us?" Miranda said quietly out of earshot of Garrus and Cass; who were talking enthusiastically about the size of the prison ship.

"Because she wanted to spend time with me, Miranda; besides we're just picking up this "subject zero" right? It's not dangerous or anything."

"Of course, Commander. But in the future, I don't think it's such a good idea." Miranda grimaced.

Before Shepard could respond, a group of Blue Sun's mercenaries greeted them; a rough looking Turian taking the lead. As Shepard and the Warden spoke; Cass stood behind them; a little bored, but more than glad to be off of the Normandy, even if she had only been there for a day or so. Cass wandered away slightly; looking out the window; trying to see the innards of the massive ark ship

"Cass! Come on!" the Commander called; from down the long hall. Cass hurried to catch up with them; her boots clacking on the ground. The group reached the end of the cell block; when the Warden's voice came on the intercom.

"My apologies Shepard, you're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer; your child as well. If you would please step into the cell; you won't be harmed."

Shepard's eyes started to go dark; "You talked about your noble intentions with this system, but you're just another criminal like the rest of them!"

Pulling out their weapons and shifting into cover; Garrus and Miranda, slid into crouching positions behind the desks. Shepard grabbed Cass by the shoulder and pulled her down behind her. Grabbing her daughter's chin; the Commander forced eye contact.

"Listen to me right now, Cassandra. You will stay down, do not take any risks, and if I tell you to run; you run back to the ship. Do you understand?" Shepard said firmly.

"Yes Ma'am." Cass tried to look grim, but as soon as her mother's back was turned, she grinned; this was going to be fun.

* * *

AN: I might try to update again this weekend, and I would like to hear any ideas that people might have for upcoming chapters, anything that people would like to see in this story, please let me know, I am very open to new ideas!


	8. Chapter 8

Cass crouched beneath the desk; pulling out the pistol she had yet to fire, from her hip. Peering over her shoulder; she was awed by seeing her mother in action; she's heard the rumors, about how the great Commander Shepard was a goddess on the battle field, an unstoppable force. The grace her mother held while throwing her opponents with an impressive biotic force, and taking them out with quick head shots; even through there were only a few guards; Cass couldn't help but be impressed.

Cass stayed in cover; while waiting for her mother's orders, she didn't want to screw this up, and be in more trouble than she already was.

"Okay, let's move; we need to find Jack and get off this ship." Shepard said; motioning her companions out the door; and down the corridor; moving quickly and efficiently, the group rounds the corner into a large control room; Shepard quickly takes out the man standing at the desk; as Garrus surveys the rest of the room.

"Shepard; if we hack this control, every cell on the block will open." Garrus says; as he glances over the controls.

"But this will get Jack out of stasis." Miranda inputs, "It's likely our only option."

"Okay. I'm doing it be ready." Shepard states; the hacking only takes a moment, and the sound of the machines working below interrupt the relative silence of the room. Cass rushes over to the window; overlooking the cryo chamber. The large claw reaches into the floor; pulling up a women frozen in restraints; as two heavy mechs turn toward the woman; Cass can't help but feel anxious, this woman couldn't possibly survive now. Cass looks too her mother, slightly panicked.

"That's Jack?" Garrus questions, confused.

Cass turns back to the overlook; seeing Jack wake from stasis; the blue glow of dark matter radiating from the scantily clad woman; Cass is astounded as she watches Jack rush the heavy machines; and destroy them with little effort.

Cass turns to her mother; "That was fucking awesome! Did you see that?!" she exclaims; practically bouncing with excitement; this person was coming with them!

"Language!" Shepard scolds briefly.

"Commander, we need to get down there!" Miranda interrupts; pulling attentions.

Shepard gives a short, but stern look to her daughter; before signally for them to continue.

* * *

"Okay, we need to take down his shield." Shepard commands; they had just swept through most of the cell block; Cass kept her head down, clearly overwhelmed; she had been around this type of thing before. Shooting, death, and everything, but now; in this moment she felt a little shell shocked; this was a different level; she was impressed and yet horrified; inmates killing guards, guards slaughtering inmates; and her mother taking down people so impressively and so easily; it was beautiful and frightening at the same time. And right now they were in the middle of it. Cass could feel shots flying above her head; the warden sniping at their backs as his men were trying to assault them from all sides.

"Okay, split up. Take down the shield generators." Shepard ordered; as Garrus went to the right and Miranda to the left; the Commander turned to her child; "Cass, just stay down; you should be okay right here; don't move unless I say."

Cass nodded; a few loose strands of hair falling in her face.

"Just be careful, okay." Shepard whispered as she turned away; moving into action.

Cass stayed behind the barricade; losing sight of her mother as she crossed over the foot bridge leading to the left. Nervously waiting as for what seemed like an eternity. While gunfire could be heard from all around; unsure of what to do, Cass peered over the edge; a shield generator glowing a bright blue in front of her; the only one left, out of three, that was still functioning. She couldn't see her mother, or either of her companions; the sound of gunfire stil filled her ears, as she could feel the blood rush to her head. Making the decision; Cass jumped over the railing; sending a biotic shockwave onto the generator watching it spark as the glow disappeared. Cass watched as the barrier fell; rushing forward; hiding behind a large crate; she could see the exposed warden; as well as on the other side of the room where her mother and her companions were pinned down by a group of mercenaries, rather exposed. Seeing the Turian warden begin to line another shot up; directly at her mother; Cass rushed forward; without thought; raising her pistol and firing off an entire clip; her vision blurring as the Turian drops; no longer hearing any gunfire; the pistol slips out of her hand.

Shepard rushes over; the mercenaries shooting at her earlier lie dead; stepping over the bodies, Shepard runs to her child; the pistol lying in front of her.

Cass slouches on her knees; staring at her hands; then at her gun; and then her hands again. Looking up; through the tears, she stares blankly at her mother. She had just killed someone; for the first time. She had never killed anyone before, sure she had seen it done plenty of times, even now, as bodies dropped like flies around her; and even when she was working on Omega there was death; but she had really only knocked people unconscious before and sure she had harmed and threatened others as well; but she had never gone all the way; and now she had killed someone; and actual being.

Shepard stooped down next to her child; resting her hands on both her both of her shoulders; looking into Cass' tear filled eyes.

"I… I… I'm so-" Cass fumbled on her words; unsure of what to say; wanting to fall into her mother's arms, because this was a lot to process, but even as she continued to stare into those concerned eyes, as extremely overwhelmed as she was, Cass couldn't help but think how easy it was; to do what she had just done, even now as the tears cascaded down her cheeks.

* * *

AN: Woohoo! Another chapter! Hope you enjoy! Still would like to hear ideas, if anyone has any! :)


	9. Chapter 9

"Shepard, we need to go!" Miranda yelled; forcing the commander's attention from her stunned child. Nodding, Shepard hoisted her daughter to her feet; trying to shake her from her visibly overcome state. Cass, still unresponsive, slumped against her mother's form.

Turning to her turian companion, Shepard said; "Garrus, can you take her? We need to get back to get Jack and get out of here."

Garrus complied pulling the girl from the commander; as he went to hoist her over his shoulder; Cass put her hands up, pushing away from the turian.

"I… I'm fine." Cass managed to choke out; her voice very hoarse.

"Cass." Shepard said softly; clearly her child was anywhere from being fine.

"It's okay, I'm okay. We need to go." Cass said a little more forcefully.

"Okay," the commander replied; unsure. "Let's move."

The group then proceeded down the corridor, heading back toward the docks in pursuit of Jack. Smoke was heavy in the air as well as the scent of blood. Cass could feel beads of sweat sticking to her forehead; as she advanced ahead of the rest of the team. Her heart was pounding and she felt like her tongue was swelling in her mouth; as her mother called after her, she started to speed up; she could see the woman in front of her, only a few paces away. As two mercenaries rounded the corner, Cass began to reach for her gun; then stopped dead in her tracks; thinking about what she was just intending to do.

As she stopped; her mother caught up two her; a hand clamping down on her shoulder; both looked onward as Jack tore down the two men with her biotics; and then began to pace furiously; intensely angry. As Jack neglected to notice the man behind her; Shepard's hand left her child's shoulder as she fired a shot into the mercenaries head. Jack turned, noticeably startled.

"What the hell do you want?!" Jack exclaimed.

"You're in a bad situation and we're here to get you out of here." The commander stated calmly.

"You sound like a pussy." Jack stated. Cass couldn't suppress the laugh, and even as dismayed as she was, she let out a restrained giggle, only to find her mother sending a hard glare in her direction. "You're with Cerberus. There's no fucking way; I'm going with you."

"Look at your options; this ship is going down in flames; we can get you to safety and we're asking for your help." Shepard replied.

"Let's just knock her out and take her now." Miranda interrupted, evidently irritated.

"I'd like to see you try, fucking cheerleader. You want me to come with you; make it worth my while; I want to see all of the files Cerberus has on me." Jack said

"Fine. I'll give you full access." The commander responded.

"Shepard, you don't have to clearance to do that." Miranda interrupted again.

"Not now, Miranda. Let's move out." Shepard said.

* * *

Back on the ship, Shepard was insistent that Cass go and see Chakwas right away, mostly because she needed time to figure out how address what had just happened. Cass, after changing out of her armor into a pair of N7 sweatpants and a tank top; padded into the med bay; clearly unenthused to be there.

"Cassandra, you're mother mentioned you'd be coming. Hop up on the table and we'll run some quick tests."

"Nothing invasive I hope." Cass joked.

"Ah, to my great disappointment, no." Chakwas said; has she begun scanning with her omni-tool. "So the commander told me what happened, when you stopped responding for a few minutes. Think you can tell me what happened?"

"It was nothing, I just, well… I just froze up, after you know…"

"You know…?"

"Well, I never, I've never done that before." Cass mumbled, not wanting to talk.

"Okay." Chakwas relented; taking the hint.

Cass sat still and silent for the remaining time; she was afraid of what she had done, what she was just now realizing what she was capable of, and honestly, it scared her. Seeing others do it, seeing her mother do it, didn't seem to make it any easier; but what happened had happened, and now Cass knew she would live with it and that on the course that she was going, she will have to do it again; you didn't become someone without leaving a trail of blood behind you, at least not in this universe. And if she was ever going to make her own way, well, she was going to kill again; but what really scared her the most, was how easy it was, and how ready she was to do it again.

"Okay Cass, you're done." Chawkas said, interrupting the girl's thoughts. "Looks like you're perfectly fine. I'm sure your mother wants to speak with you, so I'd head up to find her."

"Thanks doctor, I'll go do that." Cass responded.

* * *

Heading up to the CIC deck, Cass could see her mother looking over the galaxy map in concentration; the bright yeoman was typing away; clearly not a care in the world. Cass shuffled over to the map; her mother turning at the sound of footsteps; looking relieved at the site of her child.

"Hey kiddo, you doing okay?" Shepard asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm fine; just hungry and a little tired." Cass smiled trying to reassure her mother; who she had yet to actually talk too since they got back a more than a few hours ago.

"Okay, come on, let's go to the mess and get some food in you, okay?" Shepard said; leading the way to the elevator.

* * *

"This is gross." Cass whispered, loudly. Pushing what was supposedly food around her plate.

"Cassandra. What do you want me to do? Don't play with your food." Shepard murmured back.

"But, it's gross... I don't even know what it is." Whining, Cass continued, "You're the commanding officer, can't you like requisition better food, or something!"

"Commander, if I may…" Rupert, the chef interrupted, clearly able to have heard the conversation between mother and daughter, Cass couldn't help the blush that colored her face.

"Yes Mess Sergeant?" Shepard responded, sending the mothering look toward her child; Cass then went to put her face down and proceeded to pretend to eat.

"Well, if I may make a request, it would help if we, well, if we had higher quality ingredients for the meals. I believe you would be able to set up a supply on the citadel. Probably in Zakera ward. I think it would be good for the Crew, Ma'am."

"Okay, of course, Rupert, I'll look into it as soon as I can." Shepard smiled, "Maybe then, this one, will be able to stop complaining, for once in her life." Shepard smiled as she pointed with her thumb to her embarrassed child, both the commander and the sergeant began to laugh.

"Okay, Well, I um, have to go do stuff…" Cass said, abruptly, standing from her seat and beginning to walk away.

"Cass, hold on."

"Yeah?"

"Meet me up in my cabin in an hour, okay? I think we need to talk."

"Yes, Ma'am." Cass responded, knowing that there would be no way to avoid this.

* * *

Leaving the mess hall, Cass decided to explore the lower levels of the ship, something she had yet to do. Peering around the corners of the open elevator doors, the hallway seemed to be empty; turning the corner and padding into the engineering deck; Cass could hear a man and woman talking.

"So Kenneth did you know we have a crazy woman squatting down in the sub deck." The woman said.

"If she touches anything I'll kill her." The man mused, in a Scottish accent

"And the only thing she wears from the waist up is tattoos." The woman stated.

Cass, overhearing their conversation decided to make herself known. "Uh, hi."

"Oh, Hello, mini me!" The man began, "Engineer Kenneth Donnelly at your service. And this is Engineer Gabby Daniels."

"Kenneth! It's Gabriela," Engineer Daniels scolded as she turned to face the girl, "You must be Cass, nice to meet you."

"Uh, mini me?" Cass questioned.

"Well, Kenneth and I have heard that you're the spitting image of your mother, so Kenneth had, unfortunately taken to referring to you as such." Daniels explained.

"Oh, okay I guess." Cass laughed, and then continued, "So, the women below the deck?"

"Yeah, she's down the stairs you passed on your way in." Daniels said, turning back to her work, Cass looked back over her shoulder to where she came in; then turned back to the engineers.

"It was nice meeting you, I've got to go." Cass said, rushing out the door, making up her mind to actually meet the scary biotic she saw earlier.

"I don't think you should go down there…" Daniels started, only to realize that the girl had already gone.

"Do you think we should get the commander?" Donnelly asked, turning to his partner.

"Probably."

* * *

Cass shuffled down the stairs; seriously curious about the woman whose biotic abilities were something she had never seen before. Shuffling quietly around the corner; she could see Jack bent over a plethora of data-pads; taking a step, Jack's head shot up to see the girl in front of her

"What do you want, kid?" She asked.

"Well, I just wanted to meet you was all, and well you're biotics were so impressive that, you know, I just wanted to come down here and god, it was so fucking cool! How'd you even do that? Like two heavy mechs; way exciting!" Cass rambled excitedly.

Jack looked startled, clearly not expecting this girl to be unafraid and actually enthusiastic to meet her; jack smirked ever so slightly after her initial surprise, finding this to be refreshing from what she's used too. Cass smiled back, slightly nervous.

"Okay, sure kid." Jack mumbled, turning back to the data-pad in her hands.

"So, what're you reading?" Cass asked tentatively, leaning against the wall.

"Some Cerberus shit; looking for all the dirt on me, but haven't found anything yet." Jack responded nonchalantly.

"Oh, why'd do they have, you know, dirt on you?"

"Because I was their fucking pet project." Jack said angrily.

"Project?"

"Yes, Project," Jack said looking up from the data pad once more, "I was a Cerberus project, fucking bastards. And it's fucking funny you know, being on one of their goddamned ships. Never expected to find myself here. "

"You can say that again." Cass mumbled.

"Ha, why are you here then? On this ship? Mommy bring you along?" Jack asked tauntingly.

"Not by my will, she came back and dragged me along… You know, I don't trust them either, not completely anyways. But she's, like, she's my mom though, so it's not like there's any other option..."

"Well, whatever you do, just don't fuckin' trust 'em. Cerberus is not good, they're not good people." Jack said, looking Cass straight in the eye; as she was about to continue, they were interrupted by footsteps pounding above them; the commander appearing a moment later; undeniably displeased.

* * *

AN: Who's on a role! Me! Two chapters in one weekend. Woohoo! Enjoy! Please give ideas if you have them! (I'm getting the new final fantasy game this week, (don't judge me) so I may be absent for a bit lol. I'll try not to be though!)


	10. Chapter 10

"I thought I told you to meet me in my cabin?" Shepard said; crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, in an hour; it's only been like 10 minutes." Cass replied, rolling her eyes.

"Just go, now." Shepard responded uncrossing her arms and pointing to the stairs behind her; Cass, letting out an irritated groan, complied, nearly stomping out of the sub deck. Jack sat there unamused; turning back to the datapads on the floor in front of her. Shepard, running a hand through her hair, turned to back to Jack, "I... sorry, about that. I hope she didn't bother you." Shepard said, not wanting to step on the biotic woman's toes; turning back toward the stair and starting to walk away, Shepard stopped as Jack replied.

"It's fine; she's okay; for a kid." Jack mumbled; not even looking up from reading.

Shepard did a double take before; walking up the stairs, shaking her head; of course her child would want to hang out with the crazy ex-convict…

* * *

Entering her cabin, Shepard found Cass spinning in her desk chair; completely oblivious to her mother's presence. Throwing a hand onto the chair back, Shepard grabbed her child with her free hand as Cass very nearly tumbled out of the seat.

"Oh. Hi, I was just-." Cass trailed off, watching her mother's face grow stern. What had she done now?

Shepard stood above her seated child; crossing her arms, she began, "We need to talk; starting with you spending time with Jack-"

"I was only down there for a few minutes!" Cass interrupted, "And you're the one who went to rescue her, she's gonna be on the ship; shouldn't I, like, make an effort-"

"Cassandra, I am the one who needs to make the effort, not you. You are a child, one that isn't supposed to be hanging out with someone like Jack."

"Wow; hypocrite." Cass sassed, rolling her eyes.

"What did you just say?"

"I said you're a hypocrite!" Cass exclaimed; her temper rising, "You can't drag me along on this ship with you and then bring all these other people along and say I can't be around them! You might as well lock me in a storage locker, if that's how you feel!"

"Cassandra." Shepard sighed; bringing her hands up to rub her temples. This wasn't what she wanted to talk about. Relenting; the commander began, "Fine. I see your point. I'm being a little unfair-"

"A little?"

"Yes. A little unfair. But this isn't what I want to talk about."

"But-"

"No. Not now. We need to talk about what happened earlier, on purgatory." Shepard stated; kneeling down to be at eye level with her daughter seated at the desk; looking at her expectantly.

"Well, I… I just…" Cass looked down; not wanting at all to talk about what happened, her anger subsiding.

"It's okay Cass; just tell me, take your time." Shepard said gently.

"I, he was aiming at you… and I just, I shot him. I killed him…" Cass mumbled; eyeing her hands resting in her lap; she could feel her cheeks growing wet.

Shepard raised her hands to her child's face; wiping away the stray tears with her thumbs. "I know it's hard; honey, the first time is-"

Cass shot up from her seat; and whipped around to face the commander, yelling; "IT wasn't hard! It wasn't hard at all and that's what scares me! I was ready, right after, I was ready to do it again. It was so easy!"

Cass began pacing the length of the desk; putting her head in her hands; Shepard, watching her child so distressed, felt so much hurt for her daughter, she knew the feeling; she had been there, but she had been older, around 19, maybe 20. And she was prepared and trained for it; Cass was not. Grabbing her daughter mid-pace, the commander pulled her into a hug; "It's okay. I know. I know."

Cass stopped; allowing herself to tear up in her mom's arms; shaking with a few restrained sobs.

"I'm sorry, mom, I'm so sorry." She mumbled into her mother's shirt.

Shepard could only hold her daughter tighter, as she finally heard what she'd been waiting for.

* * *

"So…?" Cass mumbled sitting up to face her mother from the bed; Shepard sitting at her desk; mildly concentrated on the console in front of her.

"So?" Shepard mimicked; questioning.

"What does this all mean? I mean, after, what I did, where does that leave me? Us?"

"Well, Cass, I'm not really sure right now. You seem capable, but you're young; you're my kid. I hardly want you in the line of fire; but I'm sure that if I wasn't here, you would be in a year or two." Shepard paused to think, raising a hand to push her hair back; then continued. " Right now, it's just a lot to process. And before we go anywhere with this, I want to you talk to Yeoman Chambers; because I am not going to let you go anywhere without being cleared by her. What happened on Purgatory is a big deal, Cassandra; you don't just walk away perfectly fine; you're not fine. It takes time to deal with things like this…" Shepard trailed off, looking up from the computer; smiling at her child she added, "Besides, you're still technically grounded."

"Mooooom." Cass whined; throwing her body back down in the bed.

* * *

AN: (So the new Final Fantasy is pretty good; a lot better than the other two in my opinion) Here's another one. Still looking forward to hear other's idea. I have a pretty good one for when Grunt comes along in the next couple of chapters. Until next time!


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you still calibrating?" Cass asked; leaning on the wall.

"Yes…" Garrus mumbled; not looking up from the screen in front of him; the blue glow illuminating his new scars.

"Why?"

"Because…"

"Because?"

"Because the gun needs to be calibrated; and whoever did it before, clearly did it wrong…" Garrus explained; turning from the screen to the teenager behind him, "Was there something you needed?"

"Well, not really. I'm hiding from Chambers. She's insane; she's chipper, like overly chipper; and she wants to talk about my feelings all the time; so I'm hiding here, and I wanted to see what happened to your face. Mom was telling me about what happened after I got knocked out by that Krogan; it doesn't look as bad as she was describing. "

"As bad?"

"Yeah; not as bad as I thought! Duh! You know, if you can't find a nice Turian lady, you could always go for a Krogan. They like scars… and guns. Cause obviously, you like guns." Cass rambled, gesturing to the ship's gun in front of them.

"I suppose you're right." Garrus laughed, turning back to the console.

"So… Where are you going? Cause mom said you're going on a mission with her, but she won't tell me all of the details."

"We're headed to Korlus, to pick up some Krogan War Lord; Okeer, I believe is his name. "

"Seriously? A Krogan! No way. The only Krogan I've ever been around was Patriarch and that was only when I had to be, because he would talk way too much and he was kind old… and boring, and well, other than the one that bashed me into a wall anyway." Cass chatted excitedly.

"Hmmm. Should be exciting…" Garrus trailed off, clearly distracted.

"Too bad it won't be a girl then, eh Garrus." Cass laughed.

"Too bad indeed." Garrus smiled, "So, when are you supposed to be meeting with the Yeoman?"

"Now…" Cass replied guiltily.

"How many sessions have you had with her?"

"Only one!" Cass wailed.

"That bad?"

"It's awful! Can I stay here, for, um, forever? Or until my mother drags me out?"

"Well, an angry commander is not my favorite, but for you, I think I can handle it."

"Thanks Garrus. I owe you one."

* * *

"When are you coming back?" Cass looked to her mother; and her companions. Garrus leaned against the wall, messing with his sniper rifle; Miranda stood behind the pilot; examining her nails.

"Soon kid; we're just here to get the Krogan and get out. Besides, you have a session with the Yeoman." Shepard explained; looking to the shuttle in the docking bay of the ship.

"Do I have to?" Cass groaned.

"Yes. Besides, by the time you're done; we'll be back."

"With a Krogan?" Cass asked, eagerly.

Shepard rolled her eyes; "If everything goes according to plan, then yes; with a Krogan. Who, by the way, you're not allowed to bother or harass."

"Mom." Cass grumbled, embarrassed; as she entered the elevator; holding the door open with her palm.

"Be good for Chambers, okay. I know she's a little, um, forward; but that doesn't mean you can go hide in the gun-room again." Shepard instructed her child; turning to look at Garrus, who shrugged and smiled guiltily.

"Fine." Cass mumbled as she watched her mother's team climb into the shuttle as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

"Where's the Krogan?" Cass nearly tackled her mother as she entered the Cabin.

"Well, it's complicated. Okeer died before we got back to him; there was this whole mess with the Blue Suns; but now there's a tank-bred Krogan in a life pod in the cargo room." Shepard sighed as she went to sit down at her desk; still fully suited in her armor.

"Can I go look at him?" Cass asked.

"Well, I guess so." Shepard sighed once more; closing her eyes for a moment; visibly tired. "So, how did it go with Kelly?"

Waiting for a response; the commander opened to eyes to see her daughter had already gone from the room.

* * *

Cass stood in front of the pod; clearly awed. The Krogan seemed so large; being able to see one so up close, it was exciting. Pressing her hands against the glass; Cass studied him; his menacing appearance was enough to put Cass in amazement. Pulling out her omnitool; Cass began running diagnostics out of curiosity; immediately she was prompted for an opening command for the tank; the switch glowing on the container.

"Cass. The subject is stable; the integration with our systems was seamless. " EDI's voice resonated in the nearly empty room.

"Oh; Hey EDI. Can he see me? Is he awake?" Cass asked the AI.

"No; Brain function appears to be minimal."

"Is he going to wake up soon though?"

"Not unless the tank is opened; but Cerberus protocol is very clear on its measures to deal with anomaly's such as this." The AI explained.

"So, if someone were to open the tank he would wake up… like for sure wake up?" Cass asked; looking over to the switch; the prompt readily available.

"Yes; it's is likely the Krogan would awaken."

"Okay… So I could open it right now?" Cass smiled mischievously. She really wanted to meet the Krogan; and she was already grounded, right? What's the worse that could happen?

Lifting up her free hand to the glass; Cass ran her fingers over the glowing switch; contemplating.

"Yes, the controls are online." EDI interjected, "but the consequences will be yours if you choose to take action."

"Are you going to tell my mother?" Cass enquired of the AI.

"It is most likely."

"Are you going to tell her right now?"

"There would be no purpose in doing so; unless the tank has been opened."

"So, no one could stop me?"

"That is a correct assumption."

"Okay then!" Cass grinned, making the decision. Prompting the command; Cass watched in awe as the tank began to drain.

The Krogan stumbled out as the glass opened; coughing up liquid and struggling to stand; his pupils dilating as they adjust to his new sights; taking in the young human in front of him; he charged; lifting her off of her feet as she let out a surprised yelp and a painful grown as she was thrown against the wall; Cass squirmed; this was not how she envisioned this going.

"Female." The Krogan stated. "Before you die; I'm going to need a name."

Cass smiled; this was better. "It's Cass Shepard; Cassandra if you want to be all formal."

"No. Not your name; mine. I'm trained, I know things. But the tank… Okeer could not plant connections. His words, hollow." The Krogan paused; then continued. "Warlord, Legacy, Grunt. Grunt was among the last; it has no meaning; it will do. I am Grunt. If you are worthy of your command; Prove your strength and destroy me."

Cass smiled; this was so cool. "Grunt? Really? Why not something cooler? Like, well, I dunno..."

"Grunt is short; it matches the training in my blood. The others are just big things I don't feel." Grunt explained; "Okeer's imprint failed; I only have one purpose to fight and determine the strongest; but I have no purpose in fighting children. Direct me to those I may truly fight. "

"Well; first of all, I'm not a child." Cass said indignantly; "but I suppose if you're looking for a fight…" the girl trailed off; looking down to her hand which was glowing a biotic blue; thrusting it forward, throwing a force field out from her body; the Krogan releasing its grip as it stumbled back; clearly surprised. Cass pulled her hand up; examining the large bleeding cut on her palm from catching it on the Krogan's armor. Addressing the alien in front of her. "You could fight for my mother;" Cass continued, "She's taking on a deadly enemy; and if you think I'm any good; she's better."

The Krogan laughed throatily; amused at this child's actions.

"Strong enemies you say; very well, perhaps it will give me a chance to find my own reason for the skills in my blood. I will fight for her; if her strength is what you say-" The Krogan was cut off as the Commander rushed into the room; Miranda on her heels.

"What is going on!?" Shepard yelled; heading whipping between her child and the very large Krogan; her pistol raised at the alien.

"Well… I may have; accidently... and he… we…" Cass stumbled on her words; looking down at her bleeding hand.

The Commander looked to her daughter; who was nursing her injured hand then turned on the krogan; rushing him, she shoved him back.

"Did you hurt her!? Did you touch my kid!?" The Commander yelled; laying into the Krogan with the butt of her pistol; smashing in down on Grunt's head. Miranda, grabbed Cass, and pulled her behind her body; shielding her from the onslaught in front of them.

"Shepard!" Miranda exclaimed; trying the get the woman's attention.

The mother stopped at the sound of her name; then turned to glare at the Krogan; who began to laugh once more; humans were very entertaining.

"Very well." The Krogan began addressing the girl behind the two older women, "I will fight for her; she protects young like Krogan." Turning to Shepard, "I will fight for you; you seem worthy of my time; of the skills in my blood."

"Miranda, please take my child with you." Shepard inhaled sharply, "I need to have a word with…"

"Grunt." Cass intervened.

"With Grunt; I need to have a word with Grunt." Shepard said; irritably.

"Commander, I'm not sure that-"

"Please Miranda, just take her back to your cabin. Don't let her out of your sight." Shepard's tone was flat; leaving no room for any type of argument.

"Yes Commander. Come on Cass." Miranda sighed, as she led the girl out of the room.

* * *

"So, Miranda…" Cass began, "Do you think she's going to kill me?"

"I don't think your mother is going to kill you; she seems very intent on keeping you alive, because, honestly, you seem to have an unfortunate talent for trouble."

"So, I'm not going to die?" Cass mumbled; then turned around crossly, "Was that an insult or a compliment?"

"Possibly both." The woman said, un-amused.

"Well, anyways, I though it went rather well." Cass began; ignoring the woman's unsatisfactory answer.

"How so?" Miranda asked; looking up from the screens in front of her.

"Well, I did just get a giant, Krogan, war machine to agree to fight for us, Duh!"

"By putting your life at risk." Miranda added.

"But it all worked out, didn't it?"

"I guess it did. Just don't pull anything like that again. Okay?" Miranda said; standing from her seat and moving around the desk to stand in front of the teenager.

"Why?" Cass looked up to the Cerberus woman's face, confused.

"Because, I don't think your mother could handle it if anything were to happen to you," Miranda stated simply; placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Besides, I put in a lot of work into her and I don't want it going to waste."

"She couldn't handle it?" Cass questioned further.

"Well, the moment she awoke; you were her primary concern; her only concern, really. With little regard for her own life, for the danger she was in at that moment; she was only worried about you; so I think, that if something were to happen to you; our mission will fail." Miranda explained gently; this girl reminding her of someone dear.

"Oh. I… I never would have thought…" Cass mumbled; feeling a small semblance of regret.

Miranda seeing the cheerful girl grow somber, included, "Yeah, you know I had to lie to her when she woke up, about where you were that is; and afterwards, when we were out of immediate danger, I thought she was going to strangle me; you know; like a moment ago, when she went all Krogan… on the Krogan." Miranda snickered.

Cass looked up and laughed; "Yeah, sounds like something she would do… " The girl paused, growing serious once more, "Miranda?"

"Yes?" The woman asked as she moved back to her work space.

"Thank you, for saving my mom; you're not so bad, for Cerberus and all."

Surprised; Miranda looked up. "You're welcome and uh, thanks..."

* * *

AN: Yay! Another chapter! Please enjoy! Still willing to hear ideas!


	12. Chapter 12

"She literally had her hands wrapped around my throat, yelling "Where is she? Where is she? I can't trust you!" It was quite the spectacle; I'm just glad Jacob was there to-"

Miranda was interrupted as Shepard entered her office; Cass sat on the couch next to her as they both lounged back on the sofa; laughing at Miranda's dramatic retelling. Shepard's mouth dropped open; clearly this was not the desired affect that she had in mind; she thought Miranda would be lecturing her trouble magnet; like Miranda's tendency to lecture the commander herself, but instead they sat there, laughing together.

Gaping, the Commander stood there awkwardly in the doorway. Miranda, letting out an uncomfortable cough, stood. "Well, um, Cass, I'm sure your mother would like to speak to you; I've got a lot of work to do anyway."

Shepard; stopping her stare and ending the silence, turned to her child; "Yeah; let's go, you should get that hand checked out…"

Cass looked down to her palm; forgetting it in all the excitement, she stood following her mother out of Miranda's office across the mess and into the med-bay; she could see Chakwas look up in surprise, then frown at the sight of her and her mother.

"What has happened this time?" Chakwas droned; seeing this is likely only going to be one of many times she will have to treat this girl.

"Cassandra had another run in with a Krogan." Shepard said cynically .

"Another? Well, it doesn't seem as bad this time around; but while you're here I should check the deep tissue bruises you acquired the first time around." Chakwas explained; taking the injured hand in her own and examining it. "This is very superficial, a little medigel and a bandage; it'll be good as new it a day or two. Hop up on the table and I'll take a look at those bruises."

Cass complied; sitting on the cot closest to her; Lying down on her stomach; Chakwas pulled the girls shirt up exposing her lower back; the bruises were yellowing and healing with a few purple splotches left from before.

"These appear to be healing nicely as well." Chakwas stated, "They should be nearly gone in a few days."

Sitting up, Cass pulled her shirt back down; glancing at her mother's grimace, Cass could tell she was upset. Letting her hand get bandage by the older woman; Cass kept her gaze down; unsure of how much trouble she'd be in; or if her mother was more upset by the fact she got hurt or by the fact she deliberately disobeyed her, well, sort of anyways. She didn't technically say anything about opening the pod, right?

Shepard kept her gaze on her daughter; her child clearly avoiding eye contact. She was upset; upset at the fact that her child evidently has an ingrained trait for causing trouble, but more so for the fact that if something where to have happened down there; if her child was hurt; beyond her hand, that she would never be able to forgive herself. She's the one who brought her along, thinking it would be safer than Omega, safer than where she was before, but now, in this moment, she wasn't so sure. Of course her daughter seems more than capable; she had already saved her mother's life, but maybe this mission; these people would put her child at risk; and she would, no could not stand for it.

"Doctor," Shepard began as Chakwas finished with the girl's hand, "Could you please give us a moment alone?"

"Of course, Commander." Chakwas said, taking her leave and walking out of the room; the commander turned to her daughter; who was examining the bandage on her hand.

"So; what you did down there…" Shepard paused for a moment, trying to think of what to say exactly, "was stupid. You could have easily been way more hurt than what had just happened! Honestly Cassandra, I can't even fathom why you would have thought that was okay! We knew nothing about him; you're lucky he didn't kill you!"

"I'm sorry." Cass mumbled; looking up to her mother, who was visibly distressed. "I didn't mean to make you worry… I thought, well, I don't know what I was thinking…"

Shepard was surprised; she had expected yelling and anger; her child's penchant for getting angry was almost as famous as her own. Pausing, the commander was at a loss for words.

Breaking the short silence, Cass began, "I'm sorry, I really am. I can see, you know, how worried you get; how upsetting it must be… I love you mom, I really do; and I'm so fucking sorry. God, I'm such an idiot; Miranda was telling me about when you woke up and all you really cared about was me, and here I am; making things worse. I'm really, really sorry."

Shepard sighed, letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding in. "It's okay." the commander relented, satisfied with her daughter's sincere apology, "but no more Krogans, okay?" she smiled.

"Got it." Cass grinned. Glad her mother accepted her apology; thinking this was a step in the right direction.

"Seriously, no more Krogans though."

"Fine." Cass rolled her eyes; hopping down from the cot; giving her mother a brief hug before scampering out of the room.

Shepard paused. Then turned to look to the door, she should probably follow; or better yet, hire a babysitter, because clearly, her child was incapable of staying out of trouble.

* * *

"So you get to go to Omega… and I can't come?" Cass asked her mother; who was standing above the galaxy map; gazing over it lazily.

"Yes." Shepard replied simply.

"But I live there."

"Lived you mean." Shepard corrected; giving her daughter a pointed stare.

"No. I still have stuff there! I have a life there. It's only been like, what a couple of weeks since you kidnaped me."

"It's not kidnapping if it's your kid." Shepard pointed out.

"I digress."

"Hmm, well I'm in charge and I don't."

"But, I just want to get my stuff!" Cass exclaimed, "I've had to wear your clothes; they're too big!"

"I'll get you new clothes. And anything else from your apartment I can get for you."

"But you don't even know where I live."

"Lived."

"Lived…" Cass sighed.

"I would if you would tell me, than after we pick up the Salarian; then I can stop at your place and I can get whatever you need."

"Can I please just get my stuff? I'll get it and be right back to the ship, I promise… You can even send someone with me! Pleeaassseee?" Cass whined.

Shepard sighed; bringing her hands up to rub her temples; it would save her the trip; and who knows what they'll run into down there with the Blue Suns running loose and the Vorcha.

The Commander relented; "Fine. But you'll take someone with you… just not Grunt… or Jack."

"Yay! Thanks Ma!" Cass cheered, rushing into the elevator up to her mother's cabin to change.

* * *

"So, you're apartment is in the plague district?" Garrus asked, turning to the teenager next to him; both standing in front of the closed elevator; trying to decide what to do.

"Yeah, so, um, Garrus, maybe you should stay here…" Cass mumbled; feeling bad for involving her Turian companion in what was supposed to be simple.

"I should come with; I don't mind being exposed to a little cold, besides a plague is nothing compared to the wrath of your mother."

"Garrus, I really don't think you should come… It's not like she'll ever know… if we don't tell her." Cass replied.

"I'd rather face a plague than an angry mother. I'm coming."

"Fine, but if you get sick, it's not my fault. I should have taken the Krogan."

"What's that supposed to mean? You would pick that overgrown baby monster over me? Your fun, gun loving, Turian?" Garrus jokingly exclaimed.

"Yes." Cass replied flatly; as the two walked forward into elevator.

* * *

"So, you lived here?" Garrus asked; leaning on the wall next to the front of the apartment door.

"What's that supposed to mean? I know it's small and crappy, but what do you expect? IT's Omega; this place is like a goddamn palace compared to what else is available." Cass mumbled as she dug through a closet; pulling out various article of clothing and stuffing them into a duffle bag.

Garrus went to speak once more but was interrupted by the sound of the door being opened. Two scavenging Vorcha rushed into the room; guns raised. Garrus began to pull out his rifle from its holster, but was too slow as a pistol was raised against his head. Two shots were fire quickly; Garrus turned to see the Vorcha lying on the floor at his feet; surprised, he turned to Cass; seeing her gun raised; smoke floating from the barrel.

"Did you just…" Garrus trailed off; very stunned.

"Clearly." Cass uttered.

"Are you okay?" The Turian asked tentatively; seeing the girl, only a few days before, break down after performing what she just did.

"I'm fine." Cass sighed, "I've been talking to the Yeoman… she may be annoying, but she's helped… and there's no other option anyway."

"Other option?" Garrus inquired.

"To survive."

"Oh."

"So; I've got what I need… You ready to go?" Cass asked

"Sure." Garrus answered; still visibly surprised by this girl's new found resilience.

* * *

On their way back to the Normandy; Garrus and Cass could here gunfire that was getting closer by the second. Falling into cover behind a pillar; weapons raised; they were greeted by the sight of retreating Blue Suns mercenaries; falling back from an advancing squad.

Along the way; down the long corridor, Cass could make out her mother, Jacob, and Miranda; who were advancing on the retreating men.

"Crap." Cass mumbled to Garrus.

"Why is that? I'd rather have it be your mother than more Vorcha." Garrus replied as he went to pick off the last retreating mercenary; making their presence known.

"Garrus?" Shepard called; surprised; "If you're here then that must mean…"

Cass stepped out following suit; "Hey Ma."

"What're you two doing down here? No. Wait… You live down here?" Shepard asked, eye brows raised.

"Yup."

"Cassandra." The commander sighed; of course her child would be living down here; where all the trouble happens.

"We were just headed back to the ship." Garrus cut in; hoping to placate the situation.

"Good; We'll be done here soon; we need to get the vents up and running for Mordin so he can administer the cure." The commander stated.

"Things never seem to go simply, huh Shepard." Garrus stated.

"No; they don't; do they." Shepard laughed; "You two get going; we'll meet you back there soon." The commander then turned to face her child. "And Cassandra?"

"Yes?" Cass muttered; fearing what was to come next.

"We're going to have a nice long talk when I get back."

Cass nodded in reply. Figures.

* * *

AN: Another Chapter. We're coming up on Horizon and Shepard's reunion with Liara. And we still have yet to see Cass interact Mordin and Jacob; so that will be coming up as well. Still available to hear ideas!


	13. Chapter 13

"So you were living in the slums?"

"Yes." Cass groaned.

"IS that why you didn't want to tell me?"

"Partially… I was really hoping to hang out with Aria for a bit, but since Garrus came along, I didn't really get too…" Cass mused.

"Why would you even want to be around her? I don't really understand why you came to Omega in the first place… In fact, you never really told me…" Shepard trailed off, running a hand through her dark hair.

"So… Does that mean you want me to tell you, or can I go?" Cass rambled.

"Talk. Now." Shepard said shortly.

"Well I wanted to, um, make my own way and-" Cass started hesitantly.

"Cut the crap, Cassandra. I can tell you're lying."

"Am not."

"Are too; so talk, now." The commander instructed; her patience declining.

"I really did want make my own way; after, uh, you sorta died and all. But, well, Omega was, um, where you met dad…" Cass' whispered.

"Oh, Cass." Shepard sighed sympathetically.

"I know. I know. He died a long time ago, I understand that, but I thought that since he was from there and all… there would be part of him there, I know it's stupid, but it just was an option."

"Cass, it's not stupid, I understand wanting to know your parents, I was there, I lost both of my parent's when I was young; so I get it. And you're father, well he died so long ago and he and I were never really together; you were only two at the time, I guess I just didn't think of it, but I understand. I really do." Shepard said sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, I really am; but at the time, when I thought everything was lost; it seemed like the one place that there still might be something. I mean, I know Liara was there for me, but it's just different."

"I get it kiddo. I do, but your dad isn't there anymore; he's been gone a very long time, and there's nothing for you on Omega."

"Okay." Cass sighed.

"And, to make it clear, I don't want you living there… ever." Shepard stated.

"I understand… So, am I, um, in trouble…?" Cass asked hesitantly; wincing.

"Well, not really… I guess. I mean, you already released an angry Krogan on the ship, so if I punish you for this, I'm going to run out of ideas." Shepard said lightheartedly; smiling at her daughter.

Cass grinned and rushed in to hug her mother; "Thanks mom."

"I wouldn't thank me just yet; you're still grounded."

Cass frowned; it's not like she hadn't left the ship already anyways, right?

* * *

"I am the very model of a scientist Salarian…" Mordin bellowed; the last note reverberating in the small lab.

Cass sat atop the table; laughing and clapping her hands enthusiastically.

"Damn Mordin, you're actually pretty good! I never really pegged Salarians to be, well, musical; I mean Asari for sure, well maybe they're more for dancing, but wow. Seriously good!"

"Thank you. Mostly multispecies productions for cultural exploration. Gilbert and Sullivan; only usually the pattern songs. Cultural artistic expression reflects philosophical evolution interest in growth perspective, observation, and interpretation."

"Uh yeah." Cass said; losing interest, "So what're you working on?"

"Shields from collector seeker swarms; almost applicable, field test necessary; will likely find out results soon."

"Oh; well, I guess I'll let you get back too it…" Cass said awkwardly, taking her leave so the scientist could continue to work; Cass lazily walked down the small hall connecting the lab and armory.

Entering the room, Cass glanced around; no one in sight; walking further in, Cass nearly tripped over the biotic on the floor.

"What're you doing?" Cass asked; leaning over a shirtless Jacob.

"Situps." He grunted; flushed.

"Oh. I see…" Cass stopped; looking down to his rippling muscles.

Taking a seat on the table; Cass continued to stare at the exposed torso.

"Are you just going to watch?" Jacob asked gracelessly; breathing heavily.

"Well…" Cass smiled, causing the man to blush, "I thought, that maybe we could hang out, I was with Mordin a minute ago… Did you know he could sing? It was actually really good, but you know, once he starts talking and all…"

"Well, uh, okay." Jacob said; blushing as he stood from his place on the floor; sweat glistening on his skin, "So what's up?"

"Well… I dunno. I'm just so bored. Do you know where we're going next; cause I overheard Miranda and my mom talking saying we're going to Bekenstein to a party; which is weird."

"Oh; well; Cerberus contracted a woman, Kasumi Goto I believe, to help on our mission, but they have to go get something for her before she agrees to work with us." Jacob explained; reaching for his shirt awkwardly; fumbling with it in his hands.

"Oh, so like a "you scratch our back we scratch yours" type of deal?"

"Yeah; pretty much."

"So…"

"So?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna, you know… Bye!" Cass said; jumping off the table and rushing out of the room; she liked making Jacob blush.

Jacob just stared as the door shut; extremely confused; and embarrassed.

* * *

"So why do you get to go to the party?" Cass asked.

"It's not like I want to. I'm going undercover; it's not going to be fun." Shepard explained; entering her private bathroom to change.

"Parties are always fun!" Cass exclaimed, "You're just boring."

"I am not!" Shepard said indignantly through the door.

"Are too! You don't want to go to a party; who doesn't like parties? Boring people. Duh." Cass deduced; waiting for her mother to come out of the bathroom.

"I am not!" Shepard asserted; appearing in a very tight black dress.

"You look hot." the girl nodded approvingly.

Shepard frowned at her child.

"Well, you do!" Cass replied to her mother's grimace.

"Okay; I need to get moving; the shuttle is all ready to dock. Why don't you go hang out with Miranda; I think she's expecting you."

"Expecting me?"

"Yes."

"She's watching me, isn't she?"

"I wouldn't say that…"

"I don't need a babysitter." Cass scowled at her mother.

"Your actions say otherwise."

"I didn't do anything!"

"One word: Krogan."

'Ugh! Fine! I'm going, but next time, at least ask Joker instead!"

"I'll keep that in mind. Be good." Shepard instructed.

"I will; and mom?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you going to keep your gun in that getup?" Cass grinned cheekily.

"Watch it missy." The commander warned; moving to exit the cabin; gesturing for the girl to follow.

"Mom?"

"Yeah kiddo?"

"Be careful, okay?"

"I will. I love you."

"Love you too, ma."

* * *

"Jacob does situps, like all the time and he blushes real easy if you walk in on him; it's kind of funny. And then there's Jack, well, she just hangs out in the sub-deck and reads old files and is angry most of the time… Oh! And did you hear about the Krogan yet? Grunt, that's his name, I released him. My mom was so pissed. And Miranda is nice enough, but you have to get to know her first. And Garrus is great too; but if he's calibrating, you'll never get his attention… Who am I missing? Oh! Mordin, he sings, which is like, so weird, but he's actually pretty good; but once you get him talking, well you'll be lucky if he stops."

"What about the pilot? Joker?" Kasumi asked; greatly entertained by the teenager's ramblings.

"Oh, Joker; he's a lot of fun, as long as my mom's not around, cause she always tends to set him straight if his jesting gets out of hand; she can be a buzzkill sometimes."

"I'm a buzzkill, is that it?" Shepard's voice resonated in the room; Cass literally sprung off of the couch.

"Hello Shep." Kasumi greeted.

"I was just… you know… joking?" Cass pouted.

"Sure you were." Shepard laughed.

"So, Kasumi, I'm sure you would like to settle in now…" the commander began, "It's getting pretty late…"

"Heh, Right. I'll tell you more later…" Cass said; taking the hint. "Goodnight Kasumi; it was nice meeting you."

"You too Shepard spawn." Kasumi smiled.

"Shepard spawn? You make it sound like I birthed a demon."

Kasumi laughed in reply as the mother followed her daughter out of the room.

* * *

AN: Up next is Horizon. Also, to make something clear, Cass' father was some miscellaneous hookup for Shepard and was involved with Cass up until he died; but he doesn't have any major role in this story; mostly for all intensive purposes he was from Omega and he died in the military... So yeah. Enjoy! :) (still willing to hear ideas!)


	14. Chapter 14

Cass lay curled up in her mother's bed; it had been a while since she had seen anyone and was wondering why her mother had yet to come force her out; sitting up; shivering at the loss of the warm comforter, the girl rushed into the bathroom. Stripping down, she stepped into the hot shower lazily. It had been a few days since her mother had gone on the mission with Kasumi; and they were making plans to acquire more people for the big mission; they were supposedly headed to Illium in the next day or so, something she was not looking forward to… she liked Liara no doubt; she was her family after her mother disappeared, but she had virtually disobeyed her and ignored her, and yelled at her; so she wasn't necessarily looking the scolding she knew was going to receive.

Taking her time getting dressed; Cass sauntered onto the CIC deck; the crew all looking very apprehensive; all working away furiously. The teen; seeing the chaos; rushed onto the bridge.

"Joker! What's going on?" Cass asked; looking around at the monitors; realization sinking in. "Where are we?"

"Horizon; human colony." Joker said shortly; focusing on the screens in front of him.

"Why? What's happen-" Cass stopped; on Joker's screens she could make out the outline of a foreign ship; "IS that?"

"Yes. It's the Collector ship." Joker breathed out; hands moving heatedly.

"Where's my mom?" Cass asked; fearing the answer.

"We're not sure; we lost contact a while ago because of Seeker Swarm interference."

"You DON"T know?" Cass cried out; rushing from the bridge and pass the CIC deck into the elevator. Slamming the button for her mother's cabin; Cass paced the width of the elevator. This was not happening! She had just got her mother back and now she could be gone again! Taken by the goddamn collectors and she for one was not going to stand for it. Suiting up quickly; Cass hurried back to bridge.

"I need to get down there." Cass said; grabbing the back of Joker's chair.

"What? No. You can't just-" Joker began;

"That is inadvisable." EDI interrupted. "Mordin Solus has only created enough protection from the seeker swarms for three people so far; it is likely you would be paralyzed upon contact."

"Damn it! But she's down there!" Cass exclaimed; feeling ready to hijack a shuttle.

"We're working on getting contact; they've been down there for a while-"

"Normandy, come in. Normandy come in." Shepard's voice erupted from the com. system.

"Shepard!" Joker called out, "Do you read? Shepard?"

"Joker! I need EDI to get the defense towers on line."

"The errors in the code can be easily rectified; but it will take time to bring the towers to full power. I recommend a defensive posture; I will not be able to mask heightened generator output. Enemy reinforcements are closing in." EDI replied.

"Fine; we'll hold the tower. Miranda, Garrus, in position." Shepard said; cutting communication.

Cass let out a sigh of relief; her and Joker sharing a reassured look.

"Well." Cass began; slouching in the chair.

"Well… she has good timing… I guess." Joker sighed.

"Power output at 20%" EDI said, "Shepard and squad are maintaining positions."

* * *

"We're sending a shuttle down; the Collectors are gone." Joker turned to the girl sitting next to him, "I'm sure you can catch a ride down… if you want."

Cass nodded and went to head down to the bay.

"Are you coming?" the shuttle pilot looked to the girl.

"Yeah; I'm coming."

"Okay. Let's get moving."

* * *

"Mom! Ma!" Cass yelled as she sprinted toward her mother; stopping as her mother turned around.

"Cass." Shepard frowned, "What're you doing down here?"

"I was worried." Cass mumbled.

Shepard sighed; and pulled her daughter in for a hug; looking over her shoulder; Cass was greeted by the sight of Ashley Williams.

"Ashley?" Cass muttered over her mother's shoulder.

Releasing their embrace; both women turned to face the alliance soldier.

"Of course you would bring your kid into this." Ashley scowled, "Seriously Shepard, involving a child with Cerberus."

"Ash, come on. I told you-"

"But how do you even know, Shepard? Cerberus could be behind it all…" Ashley trailed off; still frowning.

"Ashley, Cerberus is doing something about this; we want the same thing; to save the human colonies; otherwise nothing has changed; and it doesn't mean I answer to them."

"Do you really believe that; or is just what Cerberus wants you to think. I wanted to believe the rumors that you were alive; but I never expected anything like this. You've turned your back on everything we believed in; you're betraying the alliance."

"Ash, you know me. You've seen it. The Collectors are abducting human colonies and they're working with the Reapers; you know I would only do this for the right reasons."

"I want to believe you Shepard, but I don't trust Cerberus and I don't like that you're involving a kid. They could me manipulating you; and you're dragging your child into it. I can't trust them."

"Uh, don't I have any day whether I am actually involved with anything?" Cass interrupted trying to lighten the situation.

"No." Shepard and Ashley stated at the same time.

"Oh, so now you agree…" Cass mumbled; grimacing.

"You're letting your feelings about they're past keep you from realizing the real threat." Shepard said; ignoring her daughter's comment.

"I know who I am Shepard; my loyalties are with the Alliance and now I've got to report back to the Citadel; we'll let them decide if they believe your story or not." Ashley said; ending the conversation between her and the commander. Turning to the teen; "Be careful Cass… You never know who you can trust."

Cass frowned; this was so unexpected. She had always liked Ashely; she was like an older sister to her; probably because Ashley had always had that role in her own life. And now; appearing to be on opposite sides; well, it wasn't something that she had expected or wanted. She'd lost most contact with Ashely over the two year span, but they kept up via extranet as much as they could; until Cass took off for Omega.

"Ash…" Cass exhaled.

"If you need anything… you know how to reach me." Ashley stated; before walking away.

Shepard frowned; looking to her daughter with a questioning look.

"Ash and I kept in contact for a while; after you… She was there for me… in a way. Cause you know she lost her dad; she was helpful." Cass clarified.

"Oh." Shepard stated, coughing uncomfortably; she motioned for her team and child to the shuttle, ready to be off of this planet. She had had enough for today.

* * *

"You didn't need to come down there, you know?" Shepard stated to her daughter who was lounging on the bed across from her seat on the couch.

"I know; I was just… You didn't tell me you were leaving; I had no idea what was going on. I suited up and…" Cass lowered her voice; at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry, kiddo." Shepard said; "But there was very little time; once we had gotten word; it all just happened."

"I know. It's just that I only just got you back and when Joker said you had lost communication, I kind of freaked out."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, kid."

* * *

AN: Another chapter! I'm trying to consistently update every weekend, (key word here is trying. lol.) so bear with me. Hope you're enjoying it! Next chapter is going to have Liara in it! I'm excited!


	15. Chapter 15

"I don't want to go!" Cass whined.

"You've been begging to get off of the ship every chance you get! And now that I'm offering you're refusing to come?" Shepard bellowed incredulously.

"I'm not going." Cass harrumphed; crossing her arms over her chest and dropping onto the bed.

"You're coming."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too; now get ready."

"No."

"Cassandra."

"Mom. Noooo." Cass howled.

"You're coming. End of discussion." Shepard stated; giving her daughter a very sharp look.

"Fine!" Cass said; throwing her arms up in defeat.

Shepard smiled triumphantly; sauntering toward the elevator; "We're docking in five minutes."

"Fine." Cass growled.

* * *

"Have you ever faced an Asari commando unit before? Few humans have. I'll make it simple, either you pay me or I flay you alive… with my mind." Liara said; a frightened holographic man standing before her.

"Flaying people with your mind again, Liara?" Cass said cheekily; standing next to her mother.

"Cass? Shepard?!" Liara exclaimed. "Nyxeris, hold my calls."

Shepard stepped forward, taking Liara's hands in her own; both exchanging a chaste kiss.

"Gross. Get a room." Cass mumbled.

"Hey, watch it." Shepard said to her child, still looking at Liara. Separating, the Asari went to take a seat at her desk; the Commander seating herself across from her.

"My sources said you were alive, but part of me had a hard time believing until now. Goddess, Shepard, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too Liara, so much." Shepard paused. "So you have sources now?"

"Sources, contacts, even a little hired muscle. I've been working as an information broker; it's paid the bills since… well, for the past two years… and now you're back, gunning for the collectors with Cerberus; reunited with your daughter." Liara stated.

"Well, if you know that, then you know that I could use your help, Liara." Shepard stated.

"Yeah! Liara! Come with is!" Cass exclaimed; cutting in from behind her mother; her hands on the chair back.

"Cass, I can't. You know that. I have commitments here. Things that, well, need to be taken care of."

"What kind of things; do you need help? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Shepard asked.

"No, nothing like that; it's been a long two years; I've had things to do while you were gone… debts to repay."

"Liara." Shepard sighed.

"Shepard; I… Maybe we should talk privately." Liara said; looking to the teen.

"Oh! Okay! I'll just um… go…" Cass stuttered.

"Not too far." Shepard stated.

"Yeah, I'll, um, be outside… or something." Cass said; happy that she was avoiding a lecture that she was almost positive was going to happen, but annoyed that they felt as though they couldn't talk in front of her. Scrambling from the room; Cass slid down the stair railing; intent on heading to Eternity.

"I don't think we should have let her leave." Shepard frowned; looking to her Asari companion.

Liara paused for a moment, and then said: "You're probably right."

* * *

"Goooddddddd… They've been in there for an hour or something…" Cass slurred; sitting atop the bar counter; the Matriarch handing her another drink.

"Your mother and Liara, right?" The matriarch inquired.

"Yup. Nobody ever includes me… First she makes me come along and then they kick me out! I'm just glad Illium has no drinking age or I would be bored out of my mind!' Cass frowned into her drink. "I bet they're fucking right now."

The matriarch paused for a moment; a little alarmed, then calmly stated, "Probably."

"Aethyta, you're my favorite bartender ever!" Cass exclaimed; after taking a lengthy swig.

"Thanks babe."

"Your -hic- are welcome." Cass breathed; hiccuping. "I'm really drunk… aren't I?"

"Yeah kid, you are." Aethyta laughed; wiping out a shot glass.

"Do you think they'll be mad…?"

"I would say so; if my kid was pulling the shit you're right now, well-"

"You have kids?"

"Well, I had a pureblood daughter once; didn't work out."

"Is that like two Asari right?"

"Yup."

"Have you ever-hic-been with a Krogan, cause you're like really –hic- old right? Like what's it called... Matriarch?"

"No; I've never been with a Krogan; but my father is one."

"Wow! –hic- Have you ever head-butted any one, Grunt likes to head butt –hic- things."

"No… Well, maybe once. Or twice." The Matriarch laughed. "Oh; angry parent at 12'o clock, good luck babe."

"Cassandra." Shepard bellowed; an angry looking Liara standing next to her.

"Mommy! Hiiiiii! I –hic- thought you forgot about me!" Cass exclaimed; too inebriated to remember her initial anger.

"I thought I said not far…" Shepard stopped; staring at her child. Was she drunk?

Liara; placing a comforting hand on Shepard's shoulder; stepped toward the drunken teen; pulling her off the bar and supporting her with a hand wrapped around her waist.

"We can take her back to my apartment, Shepard; I'll have Nyxeris call a sky car for us."

Shepard stood there, nodding dumbly; and could not shake the feeling that Liara had dealt with this before.

* * *

"Do my hands look weird to you?" Cass slurred; putting her hands directly in her mother's face.

"No; your hands are fine." Shepard said through gritted teeth pushing the girls hands down; why wouldn't her child just pass out like a normal drunk person.

"Areyousure?" she breathed out quickly; dropping onto her mother's lap.

"Yes. For the final time, I am sure." Shepard stated; looking to Liara for help.

The Asari laughed; "Don't worry Shepard; a few more minutes and she'll be out like a light."

"I don't think she's even tired…" Shepard paused, feeling the girl's head nestle against her shoulder.

"I rest my case." Liara smiled, as Shepard lifted up her daughter and laid her back down on the couch.

"So; how'd you know… all of this?" Shepard questioned; gesturing to the nearly unconscious girl.

"Shepard, after you were, um, gone… things were difficult for a while. Cass was upset, obviously, and she would unwind in certain ways. I wasn't happy with it and I told her not to, but she was grieving and well… I wasn't her mother."

"Oh, "Shepard frowned.

"I was in my hundreds when I lost my mother, Shepard, it's not easy. So, not that I condone it, but I understand it; and it only happened a few times, so, I would let it go…"

"Liara, I didn't mean, I wasn't…"

"It's okay, Shepard."

"Liara… I'm sorry, and thank you, for taking care of her."

"Shepard. She's a good kid; and I've really come to think of her as my own, in a way."

"Thank you, Liara, for everything."

"You're welcome, Shepard, I love you."

"I love you too; I wish you would come with us."

"You know I can't, everything going on here; there's too much to do."

"I understand, but I need to ask one more favor of you."

"Yes, Shepard?"

"When the time comes to hit the Collector base, I need you to take her for me. I can't, I won't take her on the mission with me; hell, I don't know if we'll be coming back…" Shepard trailed off.

"Of course I will Shepard, but please don't talk like that, you'll come back; I know you will."

* * *

Cass woke up; her face sticking to the leather couch; a throw blanket tangled around her legs. Her head hurts. Why does her head hurt? Oh crap. Realization sinking in, Cass shot up off of the couch, vision blurred. Where was she?

"Morning Cassie." Liara said simply; across the room Liara sat at the kitchen; a cup of tea on the table in front of her as well as a computer.

"Hi." Cass blinked. Liara's apartment. Where was her mother?

"There are two aspirin and a glass of water on the counter; then I'll make us some breakfast. Okay?"

"Okay." Cass blinked again.

"Your mother is off looking for the Justicar for your team; she'll be back to pick you up when she's done."

"Oh, Okay. Liara?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"I know; its okay."

"Are you mad?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to yell?"

"No, but I'm sure when your mother comes back, there will be some scolding."

"Are you going to scold me too?" Cass asked comically.

"Probably." Liara grinned, mimicking the girl's infectious expression.

"Can we eat breakfast first?"

"Yes, we can." Liara laughed, she hadn't realized it before, but she really had missed the girl.

* * *

AN: Another chapter! Yay! My Spring Break is next week, so hopefully I'll have even more time to write too! :) Still would like to hear ideas or things that people want to see, as well. Please read and review!


	16. Chapter 16

"Please stop yelling… it hurts." Cass groaned.

"Cass, I'm not even yelling…" Shepard frowned, brushing her fingers across her daughter's hair.

"In hushed tones, please." Cass whispered; eliciting a laugh from Liara in the kitchen of her apartment.

Shepard frowned; she feels bad for her child; but can't help but feel that this hangover is well deserved. "What I was saying…"

"Shhhhh…" Cass motioned; placing a finger in front of her lips; flopping back onto a horizontal position on the couch.

"What I was saying," Shepard mumbled, "was that you could have easily been taken advantage of; I understand that you're a teenager and you're, let's say experimenting, but you need to do so in a safe environment."

"God, mom, it sounds like you're trying to give me a sex talk; you should just yell, be loud, that would be punishment enough." Cass grumbled.

"I think what your mother is trying to say," Liara interrupted gracefully, "is that you if you are going to go out and pull what you did, we, or at least an adult, needs to know where you are. And that I think you should be reminded that just because Illium does not have a drinking age, doesn't mean that other places don't. If you pulled what you did on the Citadel, C-Sec would be there in a second."

"I know; I said I was sorry. Besides; Matriarch Aethyta is awesome; she's got my back." Cass replied; looking to her mother and the Liara.

"Matriarch Aethyta isn't responsible for you." Shepard cut in.

"I know." Cass muttered. "Sorry."

"It's okay, just please don't do it again…" Shepard stated.

"I won't."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Cassie." Liara smiled.

"Hey!" Cass said indignantly; crossing her arms over her chest; "And Don't call me Cassie."

Liara and Shepard laughed; both sharing an amused look.

"Well, are you guys done picking on me? I want to sleep… forever." Cass frowned.

"We're hardly picking on you? You're lucky I'm not tanning your hide right now." Shepard stated simply; standing to join Liara in the kitchen. "We'll be heading back to the ship in an hour, so make sure you're ready."

"Okay." Cass moped.

* * *

Cass groaned, resting her head on the elevator doors; Joker would not shut up, and EDI, my god. She hadn't got a moments peace since she boarded the Normandy over an hour ago; it certainly didn't help that her mother had told them about her drunken escapade; and Joker kept cracking puns and EDI was explaining the dangers of drinking alcohol under age. It was horrible; so the goal right now was sleep.

Walking down the hall to the starboard observation deck; Cass leapt over the back of the couch; greeted by the sight of an Asari she had yet to meet. Scrambling to her feet; Cass stood up; the Asari ruminating on the floor paying her little heed, other than a glance.

"Sorry; I didn't think anyone was in here" Cass stated.

"It's quite alright; you must be Cassandra, the commander's daughter. It is nice to meet you. I am Samara."

"Oh!" Cass said; recognition sinking in, "The Justicar, right?"

"That would be correct."

"That's so cool; I've never met a Justicar before. You're kind of like a superhero, like from those old earth comics… Like Wonder Woman or Black Widow; you definitely seem like a Black Widow." Cass rambled excitedly.

"I would hardly say I am that grandiose; but thank you."

"So; like, whatcha doing?"

"Meditating."

"Oh. Do you meditate a lot?"

"The code dictates reflection; it is also something I enjoy."

"Oh." Cass stated. "Can I join you?"

"If you would like."

"Okay" Cass said enthusiastically; not really wanting to meditate, but she still had a headache and this would be a quiet activity and she also wanted to hang out with the Justicar.

Sitting on the floor next to the Justicar, in a crisscross position, Cass brought her hands into her lap and sat quietly; feeling very tired.

Cass awoke on the couch; her left arm draped over her body, while her right dangled to the floor. Wiping her eyes groggily; she could see that Samara was still meditating. How did she get on the couch?

Clearing her throat, Cass broke the silence of the room.

"You fell asleep; it is impressive that you were able to relax so completely. I moved you to the couch; I doubted that sleeping on the metal floor would have been pleasant."

"Uh, thanks." Cass blushed; slightly embarrassed.

"You are most welcome."

Cass stood, running a hand through her hair; she needed food. Now.

"It was nice to meet you Samara, and uh thanks again." Cass said, moving to head out of the room.

"It was my pleasure." Samara said simply; returning to her meditations.

* * *

"Grease, lots of it."

"You got it, kid."

"You know Rupert; this is looking pretty good." Cass said; on her toes, looking over the Mess Sergeant's shoulder.

"Yeah, well the Commander requisitioned better ingredients, so everything is a little better." Rupert explained; scrambling the eggs in with some veggies.

"Do we have any hot sauce?" Cass asked; moving to browse the fridge.

"Top shelf; on the left, in the back."

"Sweet." Cass replied; digging out the small bottle.

"Here you go kid." Rupert smiled; handing over the plate of greasy eggs, and what appeared to look like bacon, to the teen.

Cass, dumping more than enough sauce on the food; took a seat at the table and started shoveling the it into her mouth.

"Gaaaawwwddd; this is soooo good. I was dying." Cass said; her mouth full.

"I think you may have put a little too much hot sauce on there." Miranda said; appearing behind the teen.

"Oh hey, 'manda." Cass said mouth still full.

"Hey; quite the charmer, aren't you?" Miranda replied taking a seat next to the girl. "So, I heard about the drinking."

"Oh." Cass frowned; did everybody know about that? She was a terrible drunk; too talkative and clingy… Or so she'd been told.

"Yes; I was with your mother afterwards, she would not stop ranting about it. She seemed very upset with you, but here you are like nothing happened." Miranda said simply.

"Heh. Yeah, she didn't seem that upset." Cass stated, afraid of where Miranda was going with this.

"Well, if my- er, well, just don't pull shit like that. Okay?" Miranda stuttered; the profanity foreign in her mouth.

"Oh, yeah. I, um, I won't." Cass stated awkwardly. She totally thought Miranda was going to bust out in a lecture.

"Seriously, Cass. Don't. You need to be more careful. Remember what I said before."

"Yeah, I know." Cass said, growing somber.

"Good; well, I'll leave you to your hot sauce." Miranda smirked.

"Hey, it's not that much." Cass smiled back.

"Sure it isn't, I've got work to do. Talk to you later."

* * *

"Hey ma." Cass stated.

"Hey, I was just about to come find you." Shepard began, "What have you been up to all afternoon? Sleeping?"

"No. Well, maybe. I hung out with the Justicar, she's really interesting."

"Oh, yes, Samara. She said you fell asleep on her." Shepard smiled; Cass blushed in response.

"I was tired."

"I'm sure you were."

"Heh, yeah." Cass grimaced.

"It's okay, you know, Liara told me about everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything." Shepard stated.

Cass frowned; wondering if Liara told her about _that _incident; maybe she had just better fess up.

"Okay, well, in my defense that Elcor had it coming."

"What Elcor?" Shepard looked up, surprised.

"Oh… She didn't tell you about that…" Cass frowned; rubbing her head. She thought that had been one of her worst moments.

"What Elcor? I mean, she told me about the couple of times you got drunk and how you literally left Illium without telling her, but…" Shepard trailed off, looking at her daughter expectantly.

"Heh. Well, I made him cry… But he was being a little bitch."

"Language." Shepard scolded halfheartedly.

"Well, he was!"

"Cassandra, really?"

"He was." Cass mumbled.

"Cass, come on."

"Well, I was in a bad mood and you know how Elcors are… and he was all up in my face."

"An Elcor was up in your face…?" Shepard paused, not really wanting to hear the rest. "Okay, okay. You know what, I don't want to know." She said in defeat; putting her arms up.

"Okay. It isn't that good of a story anyway." Cass indicated.

"Okay; well, I've got to go run some things by Miranda, why don't you hop in the shower and get some sleep; we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"We do? Where are we going? Do I get to come? I promise I won't get drunk! Or do anything bad!" Cass babbled animatedly.

"Maybe." Shepard stated; exiting the room.

"Maybe?! What kind of answer it that?" Cass cried after her mother; who was already gone. Frowning, Cass figured she should clean up and go to sleep, she'd find out tomorrow anyways.

* * *

AN: Wow, I'm good at updating lol. Anyways, here's another chapter. Please read and review.


	17. Chapter 17

"I thought you said _we_ were doing something exciting…" Cass said disappointed.

"I never said it was going to be exciting." Shepard replied; amused at her child's pouting.

"Well, it was implied."

"It wasn't."

"It was. What're you doing anyways?"

"Supply run; and an errand for Garrus."

"Why can't I come? You're totally up to something."

"We are not; and you should be happy, I'm giving you free roam of the citadel, no strings attached."

"Other than Miranda?" Cass stated.

"What're you talking about?" Shepard grimaced; clearly caught in a lie.

"I'm not stupid, mother. Miranda has been following us for the past fifteen minutes; and she's not going with you." Cass stated, rolling her eyes.

"Fine; so you can do what you want… with a chaperone of sorts." Shepard mumbled.

"I'm going back to the ship."

"Oh come on, Cass. I'm letting you off the hook."

"Miranda!" Cass called.

The Cerberus officer looked up at the sound of her name; startled.

"Oh, hey, Shepard, Cass. Funny running into you here." Miranda stated awkwardly; walking over to the duo.

"Come on, Miranda." Cass stated; turning her back to her parent.

"Just make sure you're back on time." Shepard called out, as her child walked away.

Miranda nodded and followed after the teen. How did she get wrangled into this?

"Whatever." The teen waved.

Shepard just stood there, shaking her head; teenagers are hard.

* * *

"So, Miranda, what exactly are you reporting back to mommy dearest?" Cass asked.

"Nothing in particular; I'm mostly here so that nothing has to be reported in." Miranda droned.

"Fantastic." Cass said flatly. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, I wasn't really planning anything." Miranda said; frowning. What do teenagers even like to do anyways? "We could go shopping?" Miranda asked tentatively.

"Fair enough; besides, I've got my ma's credit chit."

"Oh; did she give it to you?"

"No."

"Oh. Does that mean…?"

"It means, dear Miranda, that we are about to go on a shopping spree." Cass said walking away from the surprised woman.

Miranda, shaking her head, followed after the girl.

* * *

"Do you like this?" Cass asked; modelling a very risqué dress; black material, tightly stretched across her hips, and very low cut.

Miranda's eyes widened. "Absolutely not. Your mother would kill you, hell, I would kill you, if my- er, just no. No."

"You keep saying if, Miranda. Who are you talking about?"

"No one… Just someone from my past."

"Well, they must mean something to you, since you keep mentioning them…" Cass frowned; folding her arms over her nearly exposed chest. "You know, I like you Miranda, you can tell me."

"It's really not important, Cass." Miranda frowned, looking away.

"You can tell me though, if you want to." Cass smiled supportively.

"I… well," Miranda paused. "Okay. I have a sister. She's technically my twin, I rescued her from my father a long time ago. She's around your age now, a little older."

"Oh. Where is she then?" Cass asked.

"Safe. She's with a family. I didn't want her to be connected to me, in case my father ever came after me… but I keep tabs on her."

"Oh, well do you ever get to see her?"

"No, she doesn't know me, but sometimes, I imagine that she's a lot like you, so when I'm around you; you just remind me of her." Miranda said quietly.

"Oh, well, Miranda, I'm sure that if she did know you, she would like you as much as I do." Cass smiled.

"Thanks, Cass. You're a good kid."

Cass grinned. "So about the dress…"

"No."

"Aw, come on!"

"No. Go change, now."

"Ugh, fine!"

* * *

"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the citadel."

"MY GOD! If I have to hear that one more time, I'm going to kill someone!" Cass exclaimed.

Miranda nodded in agreement. "I think your mother has gone a little overboard."

"A little?! We've been in like 10 different stores and all of them are endorsed by my insane mother!" Cass cried.

Miranda nodded once more; following the girl to look at the fish tanks.

"WE should get an electric eel."

"I think that would kill the other fish."

"So?"

"So, I doubt your mother would approve."

"But look at it! It's so fucking cool!"

"Language." Miranda scolded.

"English." Cass sassed.

"Cassandra." Miranda warned.

"Miranda." Cass mimicked.

Miranda frowned; rolling her eyes. "We're not getting an electric eel."

"Fine. Killjoy."

"I'm fine with that."

"We haven't even gotten anything good." Cass said disappointedly.

"You got some new clothes, didn't you?"

"Doesn't count."

"Why not? Because it's not dangerous?"

"Precisely."

"Not going to happen."

"Fun-sucker." Cass whined.

"Still fine with it." Miranda said flatly.

* * *

"You should request an expense account." Cass stated; sitting across from her mother as the sitting across from her mother at the mess table.

"For what?" Shepard asked; looking up from her meal.

"Um, everything! Duh! You're going after the collectors, they should compensate you."

"So, the clothes you bought today with my credit chit?"

"Heh… How did you know about that?"

"I always know."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"So do not, miss incapacitated for the past two years."

"Hmph, I'm your mother and mother knows best… and Miranda may have told me." Shepard indicated.

"Miranda." Cass said ominously, glaring at the CO's door.

Shepard rolled her eyes. "So, what did you get today?"

"Um, just some casual stuff." Cass shrugged. "I did find this super awesome dress, but Miranda wouldn't let me get it."

"Why is that?" Shepard asked, genuinely curious.

"I dunno, I took a picture of me in it." Cass said; pulling up the image on her omnitool.

Shepard's jaw dropped; "Well, I can see why!" the mother exclaimed.

"Why? I look super-hot." Cass said, admiring the image.

"No, there is no way any child of mine should be so… so exposed! You need to delete that!"

"No! I look super awesome."

"Yes, delete it. Now."

"No."

"Now, Cassandra. I won't ask again."

"Ugh. Fine." Cass grumbled; next time she was on the citadel alone, she was totally getting that dress… Maybe she could order it on the extranet, they probably delivered.

* * *

A few hours later; it was growing late. Shepard sat at her desk, head resting in her hands, watching her daughter lounge on her bed.

"You said yesterday, that we were going somewhere, but _we_ didn't. When are you going to let me come with you?" Cass asked her mother; sitting up to face the older woman; her legs dangling off the side of the mattress.

"Hmm?"

"When can I come with you?'

"You're with me right now."

"On a mission." Cass clarified.

"Cass, I… I don't know."

"Why not? It's not a hard question, yes or no. Are you ever going to let me come with you?"

"Cass, let's not talk about this now." Shepard said.

"Why not?"

"Because, now is not the time."

"There's never going to be a time then!" Cass replied angrily.

"Cassandra, you're a child. You don't get to just jump into a war zone. This isn't supposed to be fun and exciting. It's damn dangerous, and it's not something a child should be involved in." Shepard explained; straightening in her chair.

Cass scowled. "Then why am I here? Because, I sure don't understand."

"Because, you're my daughter, and I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too; and I could be... you know, all the time."

"Cass, you're not ready." Shepard said softly.

"But I am. You just don't see it." Cass stood; moving to stand against the fish tank. "I may be young, and I may do things that are stupid sometimes, but I can do this. Besides, in less than a year I could join the alliance, so why wait?"

"Cass, as much as you think differently, I know you and I understand you, and when I think you're ready, then maybe…" Sheppard trailed off.

"Fine." Cass stated solemnly. "I know that I'm ready though, but I guess I'll have to wait for you." The teen finished; walking out of the cabin.

Shepard sat at her desk; shaking her head. Maybe, just maybe, her child was ready… Which brought the question; would she ever be ready to let her?

* * *

AN: I had a few different ideas for this chapter, and had a hard time choosing one. Next up will probably involve Thane and Cass getting into some more trouble haha. Let me hear your ideas, please read and review! :)


	18. Chapter 18

"I was hoping Liara would be around." Shepard stated; exiting the hull of the Normandy; walking side by side with her child into Illium's docking bay.

"Well, she's not." Cass said, "Does this mean I have to go back to the ship?

"Um, no, I guess not." Shepard muttered; pulling up her omni-tool to send a message, before settling a hand on her child's shoulder. "Miranda, Garrus and I need to find the Drell; just don't get into any trouble, please."

"Wait, a Drell? The assassin, right?"

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"Oh, well, I was hanging out with Miranda and she showed me some of the dossiers."

"Oh." Shepard frowned; she had started to notice that Cass and Miranda were spending more time together; it bothered her slightly that her daughter was getting close to someone, other than herself.

"Yup; well, good luck." Cass said, walking ahead of the commander.

"Yeah; stay out of trouble!" Shepard eyed her daughter warily.

Cass didn't respond; rolling her eyes. Of course she was going to get into trouble, especially because she was going to join her mother on this mission, whether she wanted her to or not.

* * *

Cass snuck around the corner; leaning against the wall; eavesdropping on her mother; glad for the full armor that she borrowed from Cerberus; her helmet reflective, hiding her face, no one would know it was her.

"It doesn't sound like Nassana is just going to let me in." Shepard said to the Asari

"She's as hard as she is paranoid. You won't get in without a fight; I can get you in, but you'll only get one shot."

Cass crossed her arms over her chest; Nassana Dantius, it made sense that the assassin would be after her. She was a bad person; involved in many illegal trades; besides being a complete bitch. And now she was going to infiltrate her towers; this was going to be interesting.

* * *

"Follow that sky car; but keep your distance." Cass instructed the driver; pointing the vehicle holding her mother, Miranda, and Garrus.

"Sure, kid." The man said; focusing his attention on the car in front of them.

Cass felt anxious, but prepared; this was her chance, possibly her only chance to prove to her mother that she could handle this. Sure, she would probably be in a ton of trouble afterwards, but this seemed like the best option.

"Hold on," Cass instructed, watching her mother's car come up to Dantius towers. "They're dropping on the lower level, I'm sure there's some kind of defense put up above them; See that docking bay on the left; a level above; move in quickly and drop me there." Cass explained, pointing.

The driver nodded; and dropped the teen quickly and efficiently.

Cass fumbled into cover; the bay silent, the doors shut and locked. The floor however, was under construction; and the left sides of the wall were exposed and open with support structure beams leading further into the tower. Cass, being relatively small, knew she could climb them onto the unfinished floor; surely there would be an opening into the building; as of right now she was one step ahead of her mother; and as long as she moved quickly she could stay that way.

Crossing the threshold; the girl removed her helmet, leaving it behind; and began to climb; keeping her hands wrapped around the beams; looking down it was at least a 15 floor drop. Swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat; the girl moved quickly, creeping forward.

The door swished open, as Cass hacked the lock. Down the hall, an Eclipse Mercenary paced back and forth; speaking into his headset.

"I'll take care of it; it's under control." The man murmured into his receiver.

Cass swept forward silently, raising her pistol against the mercenary; the man stopping as he felt the barrel of the gun next to his neck.

"Turn around slowly," Cass instructed.

"Shit."

"Heh. Yeah. I'd say so." Cass laughed, before becoming somber, "Tell me where the assassin is."

"Well, if I knew that I wouldn't be wasting my time talking to you; what are you, like twelve?"

Cass, with her free hand, grabbed the front of his suit; shoving him into the glass of the window. The glass shattered; the girl holding strong on the mercenary; leaving him teetering on the edge of the ledge; grasping frantically at her arm; the teen shoved the gun forward under his chin; making his arms fall to his sides.

"Where is the assassin? I won't ask again." Cass said viciously.

"I don't know! Please!" The man cried; "Please, please!"

Cass frowned; pulling the man back into the building; shoving him to the ground behind her; the mercenary, falling onto his back; looked up to the girl.

"Wrong answer." Cass said; aiming her gun and firing two rounds into his leg.

Crying out in pain; the man clutched weakly at his leg; blood seeping through his fingers. "You bitch!" he cried.

Cass laughed; brushing the hair out of her face; and kneeling down closely to the mercenary; "You're lucky I found you; I'm sure my mother would have let you drop." Taking the butt of her gun; Cass smashed it into the man's head, effectively knocking him out.

Walking cautiously down the hall; Cass could hear gunfire not too far below her, which could only mean that her mother was not far behind; she could also hear voices ahead of her; at least 5 or 6 of them. Weighing the risks she moved forward; ducking down into cover as the doors glided open. They hadn't noticed her. She could see their shadows along the wall as she glanced from behind the stacked paneling. Counting 5, the girl decided it would be better if she tried to sneak around them; there was a half wall to the right that expanded about the length of the room; moving as silently as she could; she rolled into cover behind the wall; scurrying forward.

The only way up, from her crouching position was directly next to two of the enemy. She could try to take them out, but it would alert the other three and there was no way she would be able to cover herself if they found her. A string of profanities ran through her mind. She was so fucked. She could die right here, right now. God, her mother was going to be so pissed.

Cass nearly jumped up in shock as gunfire resounded in the room; glancing over the barrier she could make the outline of a group of three, firing on the mercenaries. As the team took out the enemy; Cass could make out the clear shape of her mother.

She was going to be in so much trouble; maybe it would have been easier if she _had_ just died…

"Search the room." Shepard commanded; "she's got to be around here somewhere."

Cass kneeled low to the floor; confused as to who "she" might be.

"Shepard, all clear, my way." Garrus stated from the far side of the room where the trio came in.

Cass swallowed heavily as she heard the click of Miranda's boots get closer.

"Were good here too, Shepard." Miranda stated solemnly.

"Damn it." Shepard exclaimed.

"Shepard, I'm sure she's fine." Garrus reassured.

"I just don't understand why she would pull a stunt like this." Miranda questioned.

"She was upset with me last night; when I told that she wasn't ready, and too be honest, she probably is.. But with a team, with me… not on her own… I guess I didn't think she would try something like this and I placed that tracker on her too, you know, So EDI could keep an eye on her, but she must have changed… Damn it." Shepard sighed; bringing a hand up to rub her forehead.

Cass frowned, she knew her mother was lying, she is ready and she just admitted it. But how did they know she was here?

"We need to keep moving." Garrus said, "She's probably up further ahead, that mercenary she shot said she went this way."

"Yeah; let's go." Shepard commanded; the trio heading up the door, bypassing the lock and moving forward.

Cass stood; stupid mercenary, of course he would give her away, he must have been faking it when she knocked him out, she should have just dropped him out the goddamn window. Either way, her mother already knew she was here, so she might as well follow after them, silently.

* * *

"Wait." Nassanna commanded; not turning her back. "Before you kill me, just let me know who hired you."

"Who? Me?" Cass asked; surprised; moving into a standing position, from crawling out of an air duct next to the door.

"What?" Nassana bellowed; whipping around to face the girl. The Asari around her raising their weapons defensively as the doors swished open once again.

"Nassana." Shepard yelled, her and her team hastening into the room; all three of them pausing at the sight of the teen.

"What the hell is going on?!" the Asari cried; as the Drell dropped from the ceiling, in a flurry of blows, taking out the three mercenaries before shooting Nassana and gently lowering her onto the desk centered in the middle of the room.

"Well, that was unexpected." Cass said, cocking her head to the side.

"Miranda." Shepard called, gesturing to her daughter briefly, keeping her sights on the Drell in front of her.

Understanding the unspoken command, the Cerberus officer stepped over to the girl, reached for her upper arm and pulled her out of the room.

Walking back out onto the windy bridge between the towers; Miranda rotated the teen around to face her.

"What the fuck, Cass?" Miranda thundered.

"I er, well… I just…" Cass stuttered, unsure of how to explain this.

"My god! We thought you were dead!" Miranda exclaimed, pacing in front of the girl. "I don't even know what're you were thinking? Everything I said, about losing you, and how your mother couldn't… I just don't even know!"

"I'm sorry," Cass started, "but you heard her back there, she said I was ready, I know that I'm ready."

"That's not the point! You just deliberately put yourself at risk, you may be ready, but you never go alone on something like this!"

Cass scowled. "Well, I wasn't doing it for kicks! I was doing it to prove myself, to prove that I could take on missions like this, and be ready!"

Miranda, about to say something, stopped as the doors swept open, the Commander and Garrus exiting.

"Let's head back to the ship; Thane will be meeting us there soon." The commander stated softly.

"Mom…?" Cass began tentatively.

"Not now." Shepard said; eerily calm; Miranda, Garrus, and Cass all frowning at the commander's tone.

* * *

AN: Well, someone is in trouble as per usual lol. Well, maybe not this time... Who knows? ;) Also, we're almost up to 20 chapters, which is super exciting! Please read and review. (I might try to update again tomorrow, or the day after, so keep your eyes peeled)


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Things in _italics_ are a dream sequence.**

* * *

Cass frowned; sitting underneath Jack's legs, while the older woman lounged on the cot.

"She's avoiding me."

"Who?" Jack asked, unenthused.

"My mother. It's been like 3 days since we were on Illium and every time I walk into a room, she doesn't say anything and leaves… And Miranda won't tell me anything either."

"Pffft, the cheerleader. You're just hanging out with the wrong crowd, kid. When I was you age, I was a killer space pirate. No one could touch me, so what, you went against mommy's orders, but hey, you lived, didn't you."

"Well, yeah, but I expected yelling, lots of yelling and threatening to lock me away and to never see the light of day again, and then she would realize that I am completely capable and so on… but she's not even speaking to me."

"I wouldn't let it bother you; parents are all emotionally manipulative and shit… or they just beat the crap out of you."

"Hell, I wish she would, then I would know what's she's thinking, but now. Fuck, it's so frustrating."

"Like I said, you should just stop caring." Jack droned; raising a leg, kicking the teen to the floor, "Now go away, I want to get some sleep."

"Yeah, sure, Jack. Catch you later." Cass grumbled, standing up and brushing herself off.

"Whatever."

Cass sulked up the stairs; maybe if she bothered Miranda enough, she would tell her what's going on, but then again, Miranda has practically been ignoring her too. Well, if they wanted to play the cold shoulder game, she could do it too. No more trying to even connect with any of them.

* * *

Cass groaned, shooting up from her horizontal position, head connecting with the bunk above her. Panting, she shook her head; rubbing the place where her forehead hit the metal bunk, her hand came away red. Of course, this had to happen. She could feel the split in her skin; where the blood was trickling out.

The nightmares began the moment she made the decision to play her mother's game; each dream was always the same idea, being frozen, unable to move an inch while watching her mother walk away, watching her mother dying, watching her disappear. They were all alike, the same dreams that she had right after her mother had disappeared two years ago.

Even though it had only been a couple of more days since Illium, she had taken residence in the crew's quarters rather than her mother's cabin, who she was surprisingly able to avoid completely.

Swinging her feet over the side of the bed; Cass could feel a trickle of blood drip down to her nose. Standing; Cass went to the mirror by the door. She looked terrible; pale, dark circles underneath blood shot eyes, and now an angry red painting her forehead and trickling down to her chin. Wiping away as much of the blood as she could; Cass exited the room; it was late morning, virtually everyone was off performing their duties. Which meant the Chakwas would be in the med bay, ready to stitch her up, as per usual.

As the doors glided open, the doctor looked up; eyes widening in surprise, before narrowing.

"What happened now?" Chakwas frowned.

"I hit my head." Cass replied; looking to the floor.

The doctor, gliding across the room; placed a delicate hand under the girls chin; while the other gently probed the area surrounding the split.

"You must have hit your head pretty hard to have the skin split open like this… You weren't head-butting with Grunt were you?" Chakwas asked seriously.

"No. No, nothing like that… I just sat up on the bottom bunk and bumped my head is all."

Chakwas nodded in reply and glided around the room collecting supplied; then pointing the girl to the table to have a seat so she could get to work.

"Well, you may need a stitch or two, but with some medigel and a bandage; it should be gone within a week or so; no scar as well." Chakwas commented; hands rifling through a first aid kit.

Chakwas about to set to work; paused as the doors glided open; Shepard stepping into the room, looking very concerned.

"What happened?" Shepard frowned; crossing the threshold and looking at the wound, not making eye contact with the teen. Cass grimaced, looking to the floor.

"She hit her head." Chakwas stated simply; "I was just saying that she's going to need a couple of stitches, but with some medigel and proper bandaging it should be healed within a week or two, probably without a scar as long as it's kept clean."

"Okay. Good. Thank you, Doctor." Shepard frowned; leaning against the table next to her child; placing a hand on the girls shoulder, frowning as she could feel the girl stiffen uncomfortably under her touch.

Chakwas, sensing the tension, said: 'Commander, why don't you leave me to take care of this, I'm sure you're busy."

"Oh. Of course." Shepard replied awkwardly, removing the offending hand and taking her leave.

Cass let out a relieved sigh as the commander exited.

"What was that about?" Chakwas asked curiously; pulling out a syringe filled with a numbing agent.

"Nothing." Cass muttered, eyeing the needle warily.

"That wasn't nothing." The doctor stated flatly; raising the syringe to the girls head, placing the needle. "You're going to feel some pressure, but the feeling will be gone in a second."

"Okay, are you going to count to three- Ow!" Cass yelped; feeling the pain as the numbing agent spread, before the feeling was lost. "That hurt!"

"Well, I said you would feel pressure."

"Pressure, not pain!"

"You're fine… Now what is going on between you too?"

"It's nothing really; I guess we're not speaking."

"You guess?"

"Okay, we're not speaking, but she started it."

"And why is that?"

"Well after I went all rogue on Illium, she's been ignoring me… So I figured if that's the game she wants to play then I'll play too."

"You should try talking to your mother, apologize maybe."

"Why should I, she admitted she was wrong, I heard her, so why should I apologize, she's the one who's been avoiding all of this."

"She just extended the olive branch." Chakwas said simply.

"What? You think her coming in here was her trying to make nice, she was probably just coming to see what I had done this time." Cass spat angrily.

"I don't think that was why she was in here." Chakwas said, finishing the stitching and applying gel to the cut.

"I don't know, okay. I don't know and I don't care." Cass scowled.

The doctor frowned, placing a bandage over the stitching. "Come back in a few hours for a fresh bandage, but for now, you're all set."

The teen sighed, before standing, thanking the doctor briefly; the girl exited the med bay fully intending to go hideout in the sub deck for the rest of the day.

* * *

Cass splayed out atop some crates in the very back corner of the shuttle bay, it was quiet, and it was comforting, she didn't want to sleep, but she could relax here at least until they docked on Tuchanka. Grunt's violent tendencies had started to become a problem from what she had eavesdropped from the two engineers, so apparently someone on Tuchanka could help, as well as Mordin having some sort of business to attend to, or so she heard.

Cass frowned; running her fingers over the bandage; she could feel the dampness seeping through, but she didn't really feel like facing the possibility of running into her mother just so she could get a fresh one; and no one would be down here for at least a few more hours.

The sound of soft footsteps; made Cass sit up; looking around the bay, it being too dark in her corner of the room, she could make out the shape of an approaching shadow.

"Hello?" Cass asked quietly.

"I am surprised you heard me." The Drell spoke.

"Yeah, well, it's really quiet down here, you get accustomed to the sound of the engine, any noise other than that, well, is foreign."

"That is intelligent, learning your surroundings; understanding them. You're a very impressive young person; I was not aware of your presence in Dantius towers, not until I heard you in the ventilation system."

"Oh, uh, thanks, I guess. You're very impressive too, taking out those mercs. like you did… and Nassana." Cass whispered.

"Thank you."

"I didn't get your name…"

"Thane Krios. You may call me Thane."

"Okay, Thane, nice to meet you. I'm Cass."

"Yes, the commander's daughter."

"Yup." Cass replied disdainfully.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No, I'm sorry… My mother is a sensitive subject."

"Oh, I am sorry. I understand. I have a son."

"Oh."

"We have not spoken in many years, I am likely a 'sensitive subject' for him as well."

"Oh. Sorry… I-"

"It is alright. I should leave you to your reflections. It was good meeting you, Cass." Thane stated; walking toward the elevator.

"You as well Thane." Cass replied quietly; lying back down on the cargo, shutting her eyes tiredly.

* * *

"_I can't move. Please. Please. No!" Cass cried; her chest heavy and breathing shot and painful. Her hands bound behind her back; two pairs of hands keeping her on her knees._

_The gun was pressed against the back of her mother's head; a shadow in the shape of a man holding the offending weapon. The entire room was white, hardly bigger than a large elevator, the only occupants being Cass, her mother, and the shadow; a man without a face. _

"_Please! You can't!" Cass screamed; the feel of foreign hands holding her desperately thrashing form; even though there was no one there. Her vision blurred with tears; and she couldn't look away from her bloody, beaten mother; the mother who sat so still, so calm, so willing. Cass could feel the tears cascading down her cheeks mixing in with the blood and sweat._

"_No, no, no, no!" the teen shrieked repeatedly; as the shadow cocked the weapon, pressing the gun against the commander's head; Cass could see red; the resounding shot of the gun ringing in her ears. Crimson painting the white walls, the faceless shape disappearing leaving the girl with the corpse of her mother._

* * *

Cass shot up in a panic; panting heavily, she had fallen off the crate and was sitting on the ground; using the box for support, the teen stood; hands shaking. This nightmare was worse than the others, she had watched her mother die before, but this was worse than the other vague dreams, this one was much more real.

Cass shook her head violently, trying to shake away the disturbing images. She needed caffeine, because right now, the only way to evade these horrible dreams was to evade sleep.

* * *

Sitting at the mess table a few hours later, Cass' knees were bouncing up and down; her fingers drumming on the table; her other hand wrapped around her fifth cup of coffee.

"Are you okay?" Miranda sat down next to the girl.

"I'm fine." Cass replied sharply, "Is there something you need?"

"No; you just don't look very good."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now if you don't mind, I have some very important day dreaming to do."

"Cass, come on."

The teen rolled her eyes. "Come on, what, Miranda? Are you speaking to me now? Why are you even here; we're docked aren't we? Why aren't you following my mother around like a goddamn puppy? Tuchanka too dirty for you?"

Miranda's eyes widened; clearly surprised by the girl's hostility.

"So, was there something you needed, or are you going to sit there and stare?"

"Okay; enough." Miranda stated; frustration growing; pulling the teen to her feet with a firm grip on the girl's elbow, pushed Cass into the office, and let the doors close behind them. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Nothing is going on with me. What gives you the right to know anyways?"

"Well, your mother is off ship, I'm in charge, and since I am in charge I have a right to know."

"I'm not one of your Cerberus lackeys. Hell, I'm not really even supposed to be here anyways, so if you'll excuse me." Cass grumbled; making the move to walk around the older woman, until Miranda's arm shot out effectively blocking her exit.

"Cass, just talk to me, please? I can tell something is up with you."

"Nothing is up with me! I just… I'm just tired." Cass muttered; her bottom lip quivering; trying her best to keep herself from bursting into tears, the rush of emotion being too much.

Miranda, noticing the teen very near tears, softened. "It's okay, Cass."

"How is it okay?! My mother won't even look at me!" Cass exclaimed; a few tears falling.

Miranda paused, unsure of what to do, the teen, taking the woman's confusion to her advantage, darted around the Cerberus officer and out the door.

Miranda just stood there, for once in her life, she was completely confused as to what she should do.

* * *

AN: Another Chapter! What is Shepard thinking? Who knows? lol. Up next there will probably be more feels, or maybe not! A little angsty, I know. Hope you all enjoyed. Please read and review! :)


	20. Chapter 20

Cass, after her encounter with Miranda, went to her mother's cabin; changing into all of her gear and shoving the majority of her belongings into a duffle bag. Taking the bag; the girl took the elevator down to the bridge; she had only ever been on Tuchanka once, but she wasn't permitted to leave the ship at the time. But it was the Krogan home world; it shouldn't be hard to bum a ride to the citadel… hopefully. Wiping away tears with her forearm, she exited the elevator, putting on the hardest face she could manage.

"Oh, Cass! How are you?" Kelly Chamber's asked, noticing the teen.

"I'm fine." Cass said with a glare.

Noticing the girls current state of dress and the black N7 bag slung over her shoulder, the yeoman asked, "Are you going somewhere? Your mother isn't even here right now."

"I don't really think it concerns you." Cass said pointedly.

"Cassie, maybe we should have a quick session, so we can talk." The yeoman stated hesitantly.

"Not interested." Cass stated; scowling, effectively ending the conversation as she walked away toward the bridge. Passing the crewmen, Cass walked into the cockpit.

"Joker." Cass said; her voice scratchy.

"Oh, Shep spawn. Sup? Haven't seen you in a few days." Joker stated; fumbling away with the controls; not turning to face the girl.

"How long is my mother going to be?" Cass asked.

"Um, well, right now she's helping with Grunt's rite of Passage or something, it's pretty sick they're in this old Krogan arena killing a bunch of stuff; pretty sure they might take down that maw! EDI, pull up the footage!"

"Of course, Mr. Moreau." EDI responded.

The screen appeared on the on the corner of the display where an angry looking thresher maw was failing to fight off the commander, Grunt, and Mordin. Grunt, from what she could see, looked like he was having the time of his life. Cass frowned, sad that she would be leaving this entirely behind, but it was clear to her, she wasn't wanted here.

"I need to get off of the ship." Cass stated.

"What? The commander would kill me, if I just opened the door for you." Joker said, disbelievingly.

"You have no right to stop me. Were docked now anyways; and this isn't the alliance, I'm not a soldier… I'm just some kid you picked up along the way; there are no records of me here. So, I'm leaving, whether you open the door or not."

"Cass, come on. Where you even gonna go?" Joker stated seriously.

"Anywhere but here."

"I can't just let you-"

"EDI, do you have any right to keep me here?"

"Yes, the Commanding officer gave specific instructions to keep you on the ship, to perform any action allowing your exit, would be considered mutinous; even though you are not an official member of Cerberus." The AI explained.

"So, you're not going to let me get off?"

"That is a correct assumption."

Cass scowled; "What if I attempted an escape?"

"That would be inadvisable; you would likely be restrained."

"Fine." Cass groaned. "Fuck this!"

* * *

"Joker, we lost the signal when in the arena; did you see us take out that maw; was insane." Shepard said excitedly; walking onto the bridge.

"Commander-" Joker started.

"Please tell me you got that on film."

"Commander-"

"And Grunt; oh wow. I think this really helped and hopefully the ship will be safe…"

"Shepard!" Joker exclaimed, trying to gain the woman's attention.

"What? What?" Shepard asked, concerned.

"Commander, it's about Cass; you know, maybe I'm not the best person to tell you."

"What about Cass?" Shepard asked intensely.

"Well, she tried to leave the ship… but not like anything serious, just a "let me off blah blah blah," kind of thing."

"Where is she now?" Shepard replied, frowning.

"Shepard, she is in the shuttle bay." EDI interrupted, "Officer Lawson thinks it best you if have a word with her before confronting Cass."

"Thank you, EDI." Shepard said with a sigh; then retreating from the cockpit, intent on finding her XO.

* * *

"Commander." Miranda said, at the sight of Shepard entering her office.

"Miranda, you wanted to speak to me?" Shepard said quietly; sitting in the chair adjacent to the other woman's desk.

"Well, I was talking to Cass earlier, and she didn't look so good, Commander." Miranda began, "I don't think she's been sleeping very well, and she was very hostile… and well, she said that you wouldn't even look at her…"

Shepard sighed; placing her head in her hands. "I know. I could see it too."

"Then, why, Commander? Why haven't you done anything?"

"Because, I didn't know what to do." Shepard stated softly.

"Commander?"

"I thought she was dead… When we couldn't find her… I thought I had lost her, and I've been so angry with her, with myself… I didn't handle the situation like I should have, Miranda. I'm the commanding officer, but she… she's my daughter, I don't want her to go out in battle but, hell, it's in her blood. When she killed the Warden, when she did that, I knew. I knew exactly where she belonged and what she would be capable of and it scares me that if she is, I won't be able to protect her, Miranda."

"Shepard…" Miranda said sadly.

"So, this is my fault. I was supposed to be the commander and her mother and now I've failed at both."

"Shepard, you haven't failed. You're just one woman… Cass is just a kid still, she's young, and she's still figuring it all out. You're not wrong, and as for being a Commander, Shepard, you are the best… Why do you think you were chosen for this mission?"

"Thanks, Miranda, you're a good friend."

"You're welcome, Shepard, and don't worry, she'll be fine, you just need to speak to her."

* * *

Cass sat in the corner of the cargo bay, unsure of what to do. She wished she could have just left, especially after flipping out on Miranda. She knew she was being… difficult, and the lack of sleep was making her irritable, but her mother started it with the whole silent treatment game. It was killing her, normally she could read the commander so well, but now… her mother's feelings were lost to her. Hell, her own feelings were lost too. All she felt was nothing, completely numb now, so tired that she couldn't even be angry anymore. And her head was killing her… Like all of the things that were going wrong just imploded and now all that was left was the charred insides of her skull. She was empty, a shell.

The soft padding sound of footsteps shook the teen out of her thoughts, or lack thereof. Cass, not really wanting to chat, held her breath; she was curled up in the far corner of the bay, behind stacks of crates and supplies.

Cass, shut her eyes, hoping whoever was interrupting the silence would just go away; that is until her mother's face appeared looking over the cargo at her daughter curled up in the small space. Shepard's lips turned upward at the sight.

"You used to do this when you were little, find the smallest space and just curl up and hide away from the world… half of the time you fell asleep and nearly sent me into a panic every time I couldn't find and you wouldn't answer." Shepard smiled.

Cass blinked; frowning; completely silent.

"Well… We need to talk." Shepard sighed.

Cass, scowled… everything coming back in that moment… all of the anger coupled with the sleeplessness, making her livid.

"Oh. We do that now?" Cass said, words seeping with sarcasm.

Shepard sighed once more. "I suppose I deserve that."

"You deserve a whole lot more than that." Cass mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Shepard said sharply.

"Nothing, mother. Was there something you wanted?"

"Cass…" Shepard warned halfheartedly.

"What?" the teen inhaled sharply; crossing her arms over her chest defensively, standing from the floor.

"I'm sorry, I am, I just… I just-"

"You just what, mother? You just thought that you wanted come have a friendly little chat where we would hug and share our feelings, well, fuck that and fuck you. Clearly, you don't want me here, I don't want to be here, so why don't we just rip off the bandage and you can send me away, and everything will be so fucking great!"

"Cassandra!" Shepard exclaimed, surprised at all of the antagonism.

"So, if you're done wasting our time, I would-"

"I'm sorry." Shepard said, quietly.

"What?" Cass asked; very confused, shouldn't her mother be yelling at her?

"I said I am sorry. I know I haven't been parent of the year-"

"Oh, trust me; you're doing a fan-fucking-tastic job."

"You know what? We can continue this when you can calm down and lose the attitude." Shepard stated calmly, turning around.

Cass, freezing at this notion of possible silence, jumped over the barricade between them and grabbed the back of her mother's shirt.

"Please… please don't go… "Cass stuttered out, still gripping the fabric.

"Cass." Shepard said, turning around, seeing the distraught look on the girl's face, grabbed the girl's hand from her shirt and pulled her close into a one armed hug. "Are you ready to talk, then?"

"Yes." Cass whispered.

"Okay then." Shepard began. "I was trying to tell you, that I'm sorry… for a lot of things. I'm sorry for, well, dying… and I'm sorry for dragging you along-"

"No, please, I want to be here-"

"Cass, let me finish."

The teen nodded, not letting go of her mother's hand.

"I'm sorry about how I've been micromanaging you, and I'm so very sorry for what I've done to you for the past few days, but I wasn't sure what to say… You're so ready, so capable; you're very much like I was when I was your age: jumping in head first and performing so well that there were never any consequences to think about. And to be honest, it scares me that you're ready to out there, because I won't be able to protect you from everything." Shepard explained sadly; squeezing the girl's hand.

"Mom… I don't need to be protected anymore…"

"You still a kid, Cass. And I'm your mom; I'll always want to protect you."

"I know… but you can't."

"I know, Cass, but that doesn't mean I won't want to."

Cass exhaled softly and nodded.

"I love you, kid."

"I love you too, mom."

* * *

"My ears are ringing." Cass mumbled; rubbing her temples.

"I'm not surprised; Miranda is very good at lectures." Shepard smiled.

"Is that why you sent me to see her, because you knew she would bust out in… that."

"That may have been my intention."

"You're mean."

"I know, but you can't say it wasn't deserved."

"You started it."

"I already apologized."

"Yeah, fine. Whatever. I'm still mad at you."

"And I'm okay with that, but you deserved that lecture… Besides I didn't even punish you for going all vigilante on Illium. You should have heard Liara when I called her and told her about that. I'm sure you can expect a lecture from her next time as well."

"Moooooommm." Cass whined.

"Don't 'mom' me."

Cass harrumphed and plopped down on the bed; letting out a huge yawn.

"Bedtime." Shepard smiled; getting up from the couch.

"No. I'm not even tired." Cass said, doing her best to suppress another yawn.

"Nope. You need to sleep, I can tell you haven't been sleeping."

Cass frowned, wanting to argue more, but realized just how good the bed felt compared to the crew bunks so she just let her eyes flutter shut, letting out a content sigh.

"Sleep well, kiddo." Shepard stated, placing a chaste kiss on the girl's head before exiting her cabin.

* * *

AN: 20 Chapters! Woohoo! If that's not a milestone, I don't know what is!So, anyways, I got tired of all of the angst, so I scrapped the entire chapter that was pretty much going to be full of it, and wrote this instead... I like it when everyone gets along lol. Also, depending on when this ends, which is still more than a few chapters away, I would like to know if you all would like me to write through ME3 (which it might be written as sequel.) So let me know your thoughts.

Read and review, please :)


	21. Chapter 21

"You swear?!" Cass asked excitedly.

"Yes, Cass, for the thousandth time, I swear." Shepard droned; standing over the galaxy map.

"So you won't flake out on me?"

"Cass, I promised, now please stop with the questions." Shepard exclaimed.

"Can I at least ask where we're going?" Cass said; sneaking up on the steps, and ducking into her mother's view.

"To Pragia, Jack actually requested your presence on this-"

"You don't want me to come! I knew it!"

"Cassandra, I didn't say that, now if you would let me finish."

The teen frowned, but nodded.

"We're going to help Jack investigate the lab that she spent her childhood in, and then, depending on what we find Jack wants us to blow it up… It's going to be very low key." Shepard explained.

"We get to blow things up? That's so fucking cool!"

"Language." Shepard scolded sharply.

Cass' grin disappeared momentarily, mumbling out, "sorry," as contritely as she could.

"But we're gonna blow it up? Right…?"

"Cass." Shepard rolled her eyes.

"Heh, right. I gotta go tell Miranda, and Garrus, and Grunt… because he has a fondness for explosions… and Joker…" Cass rambled, rushing into the elevator.

Kelly, overhearing the conversation, giggles. "You're going to have your hands full commander."

Shepard sighed rubbing her temples, "I know. But, do you think she's ready? You're the Yeoman, after all."

"I have no doubt. She's ready, maybe a little overexcited, but she's ready." Kelly smiled.

* * *

Shepard sighed, they were in the shuttle, waiting to be dropped. This was not what she had envisioned. Jack was unbelievably tense; and Cass was trying to hold the eagerness in but, was practically vibrating with excitement; so maybe this is exactly what she had in mind, but it seemed so much better in her head.

"Can we just get this fucking show on the road already?" Jack grumbled, fumbling with her shotgun.

"Yeah, I'm ready too!" Cass joined in.

Shepard sighed once more. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

Jack nodded tersely, while the teen practically had to keep from squealing.

* * *

"I'm bored." Cass whispered into her mother's ear.

"I told you it was going to be low key." Shepard stated.

"Nothing has happened yet," Cass mumbled, kicking debris around with her feet, while the duo waited for Jack to be done looking around.

"That's a good thing."

"Hardly."

Shepard laughed; patting her girl on the shoulder before following the biotic woman down the hall. The teen, pouting, followed after them.

* * *

The mission continued in a rather uninteresting fashion for the next few minutes, the only thing needing to be dealt with were a few stray Varren, until coming on a fresh kill, one that none of the three women took out.

"This is fresh, we need to be on guard, I don't think we're alone anymore."

The three women advanced down the corridor, taking stairs further into the labs; Shepard brought a hand up, signaling a halt at the sound of voices. Motioning her team to each side of the room, three Vorcha were spotted along the fall wall; the aliens sensing the presence, began firing. The three women retaliating, and firing on the enemy.

Cass flinched as she felt a few stray bullets rupture her shield; this was not what she wanted to happen on the first mission that she was allowed to be on. Ducking behind cover; the teen threw a biotic pull; forcing the Vorcha into the wall and then she shot him in head. Shepard watched her child with fascination, the girl appearing so in control; it made her proud and a little scared.

"Cass, you need to watch your shields; you can't let them go down like that; you'd be exposed." Shepard said; walking to her child, once the room was clear.

"Yeah, I know, Sorry." Cass grimaced, her mother had saw that?

"It's okay, we need to keep moving. Whatever these men are doing here, it can't be good."

"No shit, let's go." Jack groused.

* * *

The women advanced through the facility, running into more mercenaries; finally, coming into a large room through a door, a Krogan could be seen on a communication system.

"Hey, Aresh, Yeah the intruders are here; you want them dead? Then we have to talk credits; we were promised a ton of salvage, but this place it a wreck… Fine, we'll put 'em down, but then I'm coming in there and we are going to talk payment. " The Krogan murmured.

The commander stepped forward. "What are you doing here?" Shepard asked, Cass and Jack raising their weapons in anticipation.

"First we're going to kill you, then we'll see!" The Krogan roared; bringing out his shotgun. All three women ducking into cover as shots resounded around the room.

Cass, letting her biotics flare; scattered two Vorcha while Shepard took them out efficiently; while Jack wrestled with her own mercenaries, the Krogan was advancing on the teen. Shepard was stuck, Jack, clearly was overwhelmed by the handful of mercs on her side, but her daughter was about to be face to face with a Krogan; Cass, out of the corner of her eye, could see the woman torn.

"Go help, Jack!" Cass bellowed; sliding backward over a barricade.

Shepard, hesitated before taking the instruction, and made her way to the right side of the room.

Cass; warping the massive Krogan's shields, raised her pistol, aiming it the head of the now charging beast; emptying the clip; the mercenary crashed onto the floor, dead, mere inches away from the teen's toes.

The girl let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and then turned to watch her mother and Jack take out the last of the blood pack mercenaries.

"Well, that was unexpected." Cass laughed; stepping over the dead alien's body.

Shepard frowned; looking at the corpse. She faltered. She put one of her team members at risk because she was worried for her perfectly capable child… if her girl was going to continue to accompany her, she couldn't allow herself to make that mistake again.

"The cell is through here." Jack coughed, leading the women toward her previous residence.

* * *

"Come out; we know you're in here." Shepard called out.

A man stepped out of the shadows, from behind the bed.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jack shouted.

"My name is Aresh, and you're breaking into my home… I know you, Subject Zero. So many years have passed, I thought I was the only survivor." The man said.

Jack; raised her gun; aiming for the man's head. "My name is Jack. How the hell do you know me?"

"We all knew your face, Jack. They inflicted horrors on us, so their experiments wouldn't kill you. You were the question, and I'm still looking for the answer-" Aresh smiled sinisterly.

"Why'd you even come back?' Cass interrupted.

"I hired these mercs and came back nearly a solar year ago; we're rebuilding it piece by piece, I-"

"Why?" Cass interrupted once more; earning a scolding glare from her mother.

"I'm going to find out what they knew- how to unlock true biotic potential in humans. I'm restarting the facility. It will be beautiful."

"That's pretty fucked up." Cass commented; Jack nodded in approval; Shepard flinching at the use of profanity from her daughter.

"I wanted a hole in the ground- he's trying to justify what happened by using it." Jack scowled.

"Why would you want to force this on anyone else?" Shepard asked, curious.

"They did horrible things to us, yeah. But they must have had a good reasons." Aresh said matter of factly.

"There's no reason good enough! Are you nuts- I lived it!" Jack stated vehemently.

"Clearly he is…" Cass whispered, before asking, "How did you even escape?"

"We rebelled, attacked all at the same time… they would have put us down, had Subject Zero not escaped… I got knocked out, when I came to everyone was dead, the scientists, guards, other kids, everyone- and you were gone." Aresh explained.

"I stopped it! All of it! Maybe the others did have it bad, but what you're doing is just messed." Jack glared at the man.

"What they did to us must have been worth something!" Aresh exclaimed angrily.

"We can blow up the place… but what do we do with another you?" Shepard asked the biotic woman.

"That's easy." Jack replied.

"Please, just leave me here; I belong here." Aresh frowned.

"Fuck that!" Jack exclaimed; biotically throwing the man into the wall; letting him drop, Jack aimed for his head once more, intent on killing him.

"Jack," Shepard intervened, "He's stuck in his past, you don't have to let yours control you. You can move on from yours."

Cass frowned, stepping behind her mother and turning her gaze away, not wanting to witness the execution that this might become, sure she's killed before and seen death more than her fair share of times, but this was a lot different, so much more up close.

"He wants to start this back up! HE deserves to die!" Jack cried.

"HE's crazy, Jack. He's never going to restart this place. You have to let it go, don't let your past control you!" Shepard argued.

"Fuck!" Jack lowed the gun, "Just get out of here! GO!"

Aresh scrambled to his feet; running from the room in fear.

"He's not worth chasing, none of it is." Jack breathed; eyeing the open door.

"You did the right thing, Jack." Shepard stated.

"Maybe, this room was my whole childhood, mind if I look around before it's up in flames?" Jack said quietly.

"Take your time; we'll be ready when you are." Shepard said kindly.

Jack nodded and proceeded to wander around the small cell. Cass stepped out from behind her parent and looked at her mother through the corner of her eye. Shepard, noticing her daughter's questioning gaze, gave her a reassuring smile before walking over to Jack to talk. Cass stood still, that was a lot more intense than she expected, and she was ready to head back to the ship… well, at least until after she got to watch the explosion of course.

* * *

Cass sauntered down the hallway, she wanted to tell Miranda all of the insane things that happened when she heard the yelling coming from the XO's office, she rushed in.

"Touch me, and I will smear the wall with you Bitch!" Jack screamed; throwing a chair across the room with her biotics.

"Holy shit, guys! Come on!" Cass exclaimed; rushing in-between the arguing women. "What's going on?"

"The cheerleader won't admit that what Cerberus did to me was wrong." Jack stated.

"It wasn't Cerberus, not really. But clearly, you were a mistake." Miranda glowered.

"Screw you! You have no idea what they put me through. Maybe it's time I showed you!"

Cass grimaced, she wasn't not equipped to deal with this… mustering up as many tears as she could, Cass began to fake cry to the best of her ability, which, in her opinion, was really well.

"Why can't- we just-" Cass managed the best fake sobs that she could.

"Damn it, look what you did! Making the fucking kid cry!" Jack exclaimed, throwing her arms up.

"I'd hardly say it was my fault." Miranda frowned; moving over to the seemingly distraught girl. "Cass, it's okay. We're not fighting, we're just-"

"Yeees youuu arrreeee!" Cass cried; "We're suupppooossseeedd to be a teeeeaaaam!"

Both women frowned; looking at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Fuck, fine. Fucking kid's right; damn it. I'll do my part." Jack relented, pushing past an incoming Shepard and making her way out of the office.

"What's going on?" Shepard asked, evidently confused.

Miranda, half hugging the outwardly upset girl, sighed. "Jack and I were fighting, it made Cass upset..."

"Oh," Shepard moved to Cass' other side an in instant, "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

Cass; trying her hardest to keep from smiling, mumbled a quiet "Yes." Miranda and Shepard both shared a relieved look, before the girl spoke again. "I'm tired, 'm going to go lay down, kay?"

"Alright, you're sure you're okay?" Shepard asked once more.

"I'm fine." Cass smiled as her back was turned as she walked out the door. Problem solved.

"Maybe you should go talk to her, I can explain when you're done." Miranda stated turning to the commander.

"Yeah, thanks Miranda." Shepard sighed, walking after her child, who wasn't even headed in the direction of the elevator, but rather to the ships gun.

Catching up to the girl, the commander grabbed her arm and turned her around; surprised that her daughter no longer even looked the slightest bit upset.

"Cass?"

"Oh, hey ma."

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah, 'm fine. Miranda and Jack were about to rip each other's throats out, so I put on the waterworks and well, you know the rest." Cass smiled.

"Oh. So you're not upset…?"

"Nope."

"And Jack and Miranda…?"

"They should be good… All it took was a few tears." Cass grinned, but then became serious, "but don't tell them I was faking it, because then we might have a real problem."

Shepard smiled, only her kid would do something like that. "I won't tell, but you've got to tell me the whole story later."

"Okay." Cass grinned. "I've got to go tell Garrus about the explosion… and Grunt. Cause he like explosions too; I'll catch you later, Ma."

Shepard laughed, "Okay. See you in a bit."

* * *

AN: Another chapter! Weeee! Next up is the Collector ship! Should be fun! Please read and review! :D


	22. Chapter 22

"I don't like this." Cass mumbled; standing over Joker's shoulder.

"Neither do I; those guns on Horizon didn't do enough damage to shut down the entire ship… EDI, can you run diagnostics?"

"Of course, Mr. Moreau." EDI replied automatically.

"God, I wish I could be down there." Cass lamented.

"Pfft. Right, like your mother would willingly let you on a collector ship." Joker retorted.

"Hey! Pragia went really well!"

"Yeah, whatever… Anything showing up, EDI?"

"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the other Normandy two years ago. They are an exact match."

"So the same ship has been dogging us for two years? That's not coincidence." Joker stated.

"Definitely not; something doesn't add up." Cass agreed.

* * *

"They've been down there awhile…" Cass wrung her hands nervously.

"I know; they're just coming up on the ship's mainframe." Joker stated, patching himself through to the commander, Joker began. "Shepard, you're going to need to set up a bridge between EDI and the collector ship; hopefully Shepard, you're going to need to set up a bridge between EDI and the collector ship; hopefully you can get something useful from their data banks… and Shepard, something doesn't seem right down there, be careful."

"Okay, thanks Joker." The commander's voice could be heard on the com system, "Okay, the connection is on."

Joker's hands glide over the controls as EDI begins the data mine, the screens go fuzzy and red glow appears to the left, as the console's surge; glowing intensely and shutting off in a flash.

"That can't be good." Joker stated.

"What the hell is going on up there?!" Shepard demanded.

"Major power surge, everything went dark, but we're back up now." Joker responded.

"I managed to divert the virus to noncritical systems and am working to remove them now, Shepard this was not an accident, this is a trap."

"We need a little help down here EDI." Shepard stated.

"I am having trouble maintaining a connection. There is someone else in the system… Okay, the connection is established but the download needs to be finished before position can be switched. I recommend you maintain a defensive position."

"Okay, got it." Shepard responded.

Cass standing beside Joker's chair, continued to wring her hands. She should be down there, helping her mother; not standing there uselessly. Letting out a frustrated groan the girl turned to the furiously working pilot.

"This isn't right, why would Cerberus send us this signal… I think they knew they were sending us straight into a trap…" Cass trailed off.

"The connection is established; and control has been regained of the platform. Shepard and her team are on their way." EDI stated. "Also, the virus has been mostly removed from all systems."

"Great work, EDI." Joker praised. "Now, I think Cass is right, can you test the signal that the illusive man sent us?"

"Of course." The AI responded, "Running tests… Tests complete: The source of the Turian distress call that provided at the lure for this trap was the Collectors, it is unusual."

"How so?" Cass asked.

"Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption; it is present but corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the illusive man would believe the distress call was genuine." EDI explained.

"What makes you so sure?" Cass asked further.

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols, he wrote them."

"So he knew it was a trap." Joker said. "Why would he send us into a trap?"

"That son of a bitch! Sending us right into the Collectors blind like that!" Cass fumed.

"We've got another problem, first," Joker began, patching them through to Shepard, "Commander, the ship is powering up, we need to get out of here fast, before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!"

"Okay." Shepard replied, "Let's move!"

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. I'm not going to lose another Normandy." Joker rambled, "We're out of time Commander; we have to go!"

"You heard the man; everybody on the ship! Move!" Shepard's voice reverberated in the cockpit.

Cass stood behind the seated pilot, her hands gripping his chair so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Mr. Moreau, The commander and team are aboard; the shuttle is in the bay." EDI stated; her blue orb coming into view next to the display.

Shepard pounded her way up to the bridge; at the sight of her mother, the teen let out a relieved breath.

"Strap in people!" Joker commanded.

The ship began veering, sending Cass into her mother; the commander keeping them both up, wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder, while she used the pilot's chair to steady them both. Joker's hands worked furiously, to evade the collector's beam.

"I can dodge them forever, EDI! Get us out of here!" The pilot demanded.

"Please specify a destination." EDI responded.

"Anywhere that's not HERE!" Joker yelled.

Cass could feel the shift, as the ship's mass effect core engaged, stumbling once again against her mother's supportive grip; all three inhabitants breathed sighs of relief.

* * *

"Hey, have you seen my ma?" Cass asked; passing the red-headed yeoman.

"I believe she is in the conference room." Kelly responded cheerily, like the events that happened an hour earlier never did.

"Kay, thanks." Cass waved; heading in through the empty armory. Opening the door; the room was darkened, a holographic man sat where the table used to be; her mother and him arguing viciously.

Cass shuffled in and stood against the wall near the door, not within the lines of the communication system, her presence unknown to the man.

Shepard looked at her child out of the corner of her eye, but continued her argument with the strange man.

"You set us up and had a damn good reason for it." Shepard said; pointing angrily.

"We needed information on the Omega 4 relay; that required direct access to Collector data. It was too good an opportunity to pass up." The illusive man said simply.

"Agreed. But I don't like surprises, especially when you put my crew at risk." Shepard said, briefly looking back to her child.

"I put you at risk, yes, but without that information we don't reach the Collector home world and you, as well as every other human might as well be dead. It was a trap, but I was confident in your abilities, and don't forget EDI, the Collectors couldn't have anticipated her." The man explained.

"You could have told us the plan. You have one job and that's information, if I can't trust the information you give, how can I even trust you?" Shepard stated.

"Now is not the time for petty grudges, I did what was necessary. And it's not that simple, you know that."

"Fine, but I'm going to be a lot more careful with the Collectors and with you." Shepard said with a tone of finality.

"Fair enough, however this is going to get a lot harder, EDI confirmed our suspicions…" The man paused to take a drag of his cigarette, "The reapers and the collectors use a complex identify friend foe system that the relays recognize. All we need to do now is get our hands on one of those IFFs."

"I was just on the Collector ship; why didn't you say anything about finding their IFF?" Shepard seethed.

"As I said, EDI just confirmed it, besides you wouldn't have had time to find and extract it, but we have options. We've found a derelict reaper; one that was damaged because it was trapped in the gravity of a brown dwarf, I'll spare you the details, The reaper has mass effect fields that keep it in orbit, it's stable, but I wouldn't call it safe, but it seems to be our best option, Shepard. "

"I only believe you, because I doubt you would repeat yourself so soon." Shepard scowled.

"It's no less a risk, we lost contact with our team shortly after they boarded. Initial reconnaissance revealed no more clues, and it was too risky to waste more resources, but now we need that IFF. I'll forward the coordinates to Joker. In the meantime, I suggest you tell your crew I didn't risk their lives unnecessarily. It will make things easier going forward." The illusive man took one more drag of his cigarette, flicking it into the ash tray before disconnecting, effectively ending the conversation.

Shepard sighed; running a hand through her hair.

"So that was the illusive man…What an asshole." Cass exclaimed.

The commander, sending a sharp look toward her daughter, frowned at the use of profanity.

Cass shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, language, I know." The teen said, putting her hands up in mock defeat.

"Well, he may be, but he's getting the job done." Shepard exhaled.

"Still."

"I know."

"His eyes looked like little targets, I guess we'll know where to shoot when the time comes." Cass stated.

"When the time comes?"

"You don't honestly trust that douche-copter? Do you? He just knowingly sent you into a trap!"

"I don't trust him, no, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have humanity's best interest, Cass." Shepard reasoned.

"Whatever, I don't trust him at all, and when the time comes, I'm going for his weird eyes." The teen mumbled.

Shepard frowned, but didn't respond to the comment, switching gears, Shepard said: "EDI, assemble the team."

"Right away, Shepard." EDI responded instantly.

"Team meeting?" Cass grinned; fisting the air excitedly.

"Nope. Not for you. It's getting late anyways." Shepard replied, pointing to the door.

"Hey, no fair. I want to stay for the meeting."

"No."

"Come on."

"Nope." Shepard stated, placing a hand on her child's back, leading her to the door.

"Mom, please?"

"Not going to happen." The commander gently pushed the girl out into hall, smiling at the pouting expression on her daughter's face.

Cass slumped her shoulders as she shuffled out onto the CIC deck and into the elevator. So not fair.

* * *

AN: Another chapter! Up next: some loyalty missions, most likely. :) and Tali! Can't forget her! Please read and review!


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